Special Exhibitions
Jeweled Arts of India
|
|
Special Exhibitions |
|
Jeweled Arts of India |
|
|
Press Release Media Contact: Denise Horstman, (216) 707-2262)January 3, 2002 dhorstman@clevelandart.org Jeweled Arts of India's Muslim Rulers On View at CMA "Eye-popping exhibition." - Time "A visual feast." - The New York Times CLEVELAND - "Treasury of the World": Jeweled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals will be on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) from Feb. 24 through May 19, 2002. The approximately 325 works on view - many lavished with diamonds, emeralds, and rubies set in pure gold - will be displayed in groups including royal adornment, princely weapons, gemstones of inestimable importance, and sumptuous vessels, such as cups, plates, and inkwells. Admission will be by timed ticket. Advance reservations are recommended; tickets are available now. Katharine Lee Reid, director of the CMA, expressed the importance of the museum's ability to bring such shows to its audience: "The museum's comprehensive collections include fine holdings of Indian and Islamic art, making us a perfect place for this magnificent show. Presenting the world's best collection of Mughal jewels and celebrating the awesome and beautiful achievements of a powerful Muslim court ruled by the Mughals in 17th-century India is entirely appropriate for our educational role. Moreover, the exhibition provides a window into a culture that is not well known to or understood by many of us." The Jeweled Arts of India exhibition is organized by and comes to CMA from The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait National Museum. It is covered by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Generous support from the Ohio Arts Council underwrites some exhibition costs. The exhibition and its catalogue are the work of Manuel Keene, curator at the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait National Museum, in collaboration with Salam Kaoukji. Artistic and historic highlights throughout In Cleveland, the exhibition is being overseen by CMA's curator of textiles and Islamic art, Louise W. Mackie. Anticipating the show's impact on CMA visitors, Mackie acknowledged that a sense of the opulence of the works is overwhelming: "I know, however, that people will also perceive the refinement and sensitivity of the pieces. The Mughal empire in India gave rise to one of the great periods of high Islamic culture, and the elegance of its artistry in precious materials - the famous Taj Mahal itself being, of course, the most majestic jewel - is borne out in this exhibition." The Muslim rulers of 17th-century India, including Shah Jahan (who commissioned the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife), are often called history's greatest patrons of the jeweled arts. Descendants of the 14th-century Mongol conqueror Tamerlane (or Timur), they ruled one of the wealthiest and greatest empires of Asia, and commanded exceptional expertise in gemstones and artful settings, plus unfathomable riches and access to many of the finest hard stones ever known. (India was the only major source of diamonds before they were discovered in Brazil in the 1700s.) The exhibition's title comes from a 17th-century letter to Prince Charles of England, later King Charles I, written by Sir Thomas Roe, England's first ambassador to the Mughal court (1616-19). Roe said of then-emperor Jahangir (father of Shah Jahan): "In jewels, he is the treasury of the world, buying all that comes, and heaping rich stones...." Most of the works on view date from the 17th century and were meant for ceremonial and courtly use. Among the highlights: -- the "Ruby Dagger," a gold-handled dagger and its gold sheath covered with more than 2,400 rubies, emeralds, and diamonds as well as extensive engraving and repoussé work; this exemplifies the many works on view incorporating India's unique kundan technique of fusing hyper-purified gold foil with stone at room temperature (i.e., without soldering), which is then typically set with gemstones; -- a finger ring with a rotating and bobbing bird, made of gold and set with rubies, emeralds, chrysoberyl cat's eyes, diamonds, and a single sapphire; -- a ruby-colored spinel weighing 249.31 carats, inscribed with the names of its six royal owners, fabled in recent literature as the "Timur Ruby" (this exhibition presents the largest collection of such imperial inscribed spinels outside the Iranian National Jewels Treasury); -- a pendant with a cameo portrait of Shah Jahan encircled with rubies; and -- a lidded cup and saucer made of gold with champlevé and painted enamels -techniques imported from Europe via European jewelers who found employment in India during this period. Artists of inlaid and overlaid steel ("damascening") were employed in the imperial workshops and are mentioned in official records along with inlayers of hardstones; many examples of their gold and steel weaponry are included. Photomurals of miniature paintings from the Mughal era will illustrate how many of the objects were used. Enlargements of microscopic views of the works will draw attention to their details. The al-Sabah Collection The exhibition is drawn from The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait National Museum. Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah began collecting Islamic art in the mid-1970s. His collection of Mughal jeweled arts is considered the finest in the world. Many of the objects in this exhibition, along with Islamic art in other media, were housed in a building of the Kuwait National Museum Complex from 1983 until the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, during which many were removed to Baghdad, then restored to the collection after the Persian Gulf War. Related photography exhibitions and permanent collection displays CMA curator of photography Tom Hinson has organized two exhibitions to complement the Jeweled Arts of India exhibition. Both open Mar. 2. Visions of India: Photographs by Ram Rahman (Mar. 2-May 8) is a loan exhibition of about 20 black-and-white images by an American-educated artist whose pictures of his native country are generously layered with references to politics, economics, religion, and culture. Travel Photography: Images of India (Mar. 2-July 17) gathers about a dozen works from CMA's collection from the mid-19th century to recent times, conveying the long-lived fascination of photographers with India's landscape, its architectural traditions, and diverse peoples. In the permanent galleries of the museum's Asian collections, considered among the finest in the world, will be a room devoted to miniature paintings from the Mughal era for the duration of the Jeweled Arts of India exhibition. Examples of jeweled arts from the CMA collection, such as fine jade and enameling, are included near the entrance to this room. The wider visual world of the Muslims may be viewed in CMA's gallery of Islamic art upstairs, comprising mostly Egyptian, Persian, and Turkish works. Free lecture series, Family Festival, other related events Six leaders in the field of Islamic art from around the world will be brought to CMA for a free lecture series on Sundays at 2 p.m. Collection curator Manuel Keene leads off on opening Sunday (Splendid Culmination: The Classic Phase of Jeweled Arts of the Mughal Period, Feb. 24). He will be followed by Susan Stronge, assistant curator, Indian and Southeast Asian department, the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (Jeweled Thrones, Mar. 3); Joseph M. Dye III, E. Rhodes and Leonna B. Carpenter Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (Miniature Paintings as Documents of the Jeweled Art, Mar. 10); Robert Skelton, Esq., Keeper Emeritus, Indian Section, the Victoria & Albert Museum (Luxury Crafts at the Court of the Great Mughal, Apr. 7); independent architectural historian Elizabeth Moynihan (Paradise in Mughal Gardens, Apr. 14); and Catherine B. Asher, professor, department of art history, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (Visions of Marble, Visions of Paradise: The Tradition of the Taj Mahal, Apr. 21). On Sunday, May 5, at 1-4:30 p.m., the Textile Art Alliance, an affiliate group of the museum, will co-sponsor a free workshop on "piano scarves," paisley and Kashmiri shawls, including an identification "clinic" for examples brought by visitors and a pair of lectures by two independent scholars: Jenny Housego, based in Delhi and Paris; and Arlene Cooper, based in New York. Drop-in workshops for all ages, music, dance, and other activities will make up the free Family Festival on Sunday, Mar. 17, at 1-4:30 p.m. The museum's VIVA! performing arts series will include a return appearance of the popular Nrityagram Dance Ensemble of India (Friday, Mar. 8, 7:30 p.m.) and other concerts during Jeweled Arts of India. Films from "Bollywood," videos, and gallery talks by CMA staff are also being planned. Planning your visit Admission to the exhibition is $9 weekdays, $12 weekends; discounted tickets are available for seniors, students, and groups of 15 or more; CMA members' tickets are free. An audio tour produced by Acoustiguide will be available for an additional $5 (discounted for CMA members, seniors, children, and groups). General admission to the museum's permanent collection and other exhibits is free. New Web store carries reproduction jewelry and other new merchandise CMA's stores have produced a variety of new jewelry - brilliantly enameled and jeweled as well as solid sterling silver - and other gift items such as cloth-covered boxes and frames inspired by textiles and jewelry in the museum's collections of Indian art. The new items range in price from $30 to $230. They are available at the CMA's Museum Stores located at the museum, at the Cleveland Hopkins Airport, and at Beachwood Place, as well as through the newly created Web store: www.clevelandart.org/store/. The exhibition catalogue is also available (Thames & Hudson, paperback, $29.95). Exhibition tour The Jeweled Arts of India show opened at the British Museum, London, last spring and will be on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, through Jan. 13, 2002. After Cleveland, it will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (June 30-Oct. 27, 2002) and the St. Louis Art Museum (Winter 2002-2003). The exhibition is presented with the generous support of Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and Sheikha Hussah Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah and The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, Kuwait. An indemnity has been granted by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The museum receives operating support from the Ohio Arts Council. Promotional support for this exhibition is provided by The Plain Dealer and Soft Rock 102.1 WDOK FM. For additional information about the CMA or upcoming exhibitions, visit the Web site at www.clevelandart.org or call 1-888-CMA-0033. News media please note: A complete Jeweled Arts of India media kit contains a news release about the store and products related to the exhibition; a release about VIVA! concerts; excerpts from the catalogue; and information about planning a visit to Cleveland. Releases on the complementary photography exhibitions and a release containing details on other programs are forthcoming. Slides and digital images are available by contacting the CMA communications office. Downloadable images are available on the CMA Web site (News Desk). Page 7 of 7 | On the next page: Highlights of The al-Sabah Collection |
|||||||
