Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani of Qatar has died

Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani of Qatar has died at his home in London apparently of natural causes announced the Art Newspaper (Georgina Adam and Cristina Ruiz, 'One of the world’s top collectors Sheikh Al-Thani dies suddenly, aged 48' Art Newspaper 10 November 2014).

Sheikh Al-Thani, a distant cousin of the current Emir, served as Qatar’s minister of culture from 1997 until 2005 and oversaw an ambitious museum building programme for the oil and gas-rich Gulf state. He also built a massive collections of antiquities, photography, Chinese and Islamic art (many of his purchases in this field are now on display in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha) [...] In 2012, a High Court judge in London froze $15m worth of his assets as part of a dispute over unpaid bills to auction houses. The numismatic auctioneers Baldwin’s, Dmitry Markov and M&M Numismatics, accused him of defaulting on bids for items from the Prospero Collection [...] of Greek coins.

' Buyer of Prospero Collection Coins Reportedly Having Trouble Paying', PACHI Sunday, 18 November 2012.

Vignette: the late Sheikh.

UPDATE 10.11.14
Dorothy King has some more details and a slightly different perspective: 'RIP Sheikh Al-Thani' PhDiva Monday, November 10, 2014.