If you like visiting museum displays of incredibly rich jewels and bejewelled artefacts, but have missed the exhibition of the Al Thani Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum last year, don't despair as you will be able to catch it again in Venice come September.
"Treasures of the Mughals and of the Maharajas - The Al Thani Collection" - edited by Amin Jaffer, Senior Curator of The Al Thani Collection, and Italian scholar of East Asian art Gian Carlo Calza with Gabriella Belli as academic director - will indeed be on display at the Doge's Palace (9th September 2017 - 3rd January 2018).
The journey through Indian jewellery will start in the 16th century at the court of the Mughals (1526-1858), the Timurid Dynasty founded by Babur after his conquest of most of Northern India in 1526.
The Mughal lands were rich in precious stones and metals and this helped the development of a refined tradition of ornaments and jewellery.
A first part of the exhibition will allow visitors to admire some of the dynastic gems and in particular two famous diamonds, from the legendary mines of Golconda - The Idol's Eye, the world's biggest cut blue diamond; and Arcot II, one of the two diamonds given to Queen Charlotte - wife of King George III (1738-1820) - by Muhammad 'Ali Wallajah, Nawab of Arcot (1717-1795).
The golden age of patronage for jewellers crafting astonishing pieces started with the fourth and fifth Mughal emperors: the pieces made during this period of time became popular for their quality gems, but also for the way artisans combined Eastern and Western art and culture.
The polychrome enameling technique that can be admired in some of the pieces - such as the pendant in the form of a figure modelled around a baroque pearl and probably representing snake god Nagadevata - was for example inspired by the Renaissance courts in Europe.
Jade and rock crystal were also highly prized at the Mughal court since in Islamic culture jade was understood to invoke victory and was also believed to detect and counteract poison. The Wine Cup of Emperor Jahangir, inscribed with verses of Persian poetry and the titles of the monarch, and the Shah Jahan dagger (1620-1625), with a jade hilt are early examples of jade pieces that will be included in this section of the exhibition.
Some of the techniques employed by the artisans can also be rediscovered by closely looking at these pieces: the kundan technique allowed for example artisans to set gems in gold without the use of a prong, but using strips of malleable pure gold. The Pen Case and Inkwell (Deccan or North India, 1575-1600), made from solid gold and encrusted with precious gems was made employing these techniques.
Another masterpiece made with special techniques was the tiger-head finial from the throne of Tipu Sultan. As seen in a previous post, the gold-encrusted and gem-set throne was dismantled after Tipu was killed by British forces in 1799 and some of its components ended up in the British Royal Collection while others were recently found.
Some of the most remarkable pieces remain the green enameled jewel-encrusted objects (from the 18th century) from Hyderabad ateliers used in rituals and ceremonies during audiences at court, while power in the court will be evoked by turban ornaments dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
The Mughal decline was followed by a period of political instability and, when the country transitioned under British colonial rule, the patronage of great jewellery also passed into the hands of rulers of the successor states, be they maharajas, nizams or nawabs. Tastes and styles were consequently westernised and collaborations were launched with leading European jewellery houses such as Cartier.
Gems were incorporated into modern compositions and new designs that mixed Indian traditions with Western jewellery culture.
The exhibition includes therefore a series of extraordinarily rich diamond necklaces and other unique pieces like the Canopy that formed a part of the Pearl Carpet of Baroda, commissioned by Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwad between 1865 and 1870. The silk covering the deerskin was decorated with silver, gold, coloured glass, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and around 950,000 pearls (the item was intended to be placed inside the tomb of Prophet Mohamed in Medina, but it never reached its destination).
European jewellery absorbed Indian influences: think about the Ballets Russes's oriental productions in the early 1900s and in particular their "Schéhérazade" performance with sets and costumes in the colours of the Mughal and Iranian book paintings acquired by European collectors (including the jeweller Louis Cartier); or check out the beautiful Art Deco pieces that will be on display at this event, such as the brooch designed by Paul Iribe and made by Robert Linzeler.
At the same time Indian patrons wore contemporary Western jewellery and Western houses were inspired by Indian jewellery, designing pieces like the peacock aigrette created by Mellerio dits Meller (Paris 1905) bought by Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala.
In 1931 Cartier made for one of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala's wives an exclusive ruby choker (a Westernised version of a traditional Indian guluband; the exclusive use of rubies, combined here with pearls and diamonds, had no precedent in traditional Indian jewellery) and created for Maharaja Digvijaysinhji the Tiger Eye, a gold-coloured diamond mounted into a turban ornament.
The exhibition will close with a tribute to contemporary goldsmithing with artisans such as Mumbai-based Viren Bhagat combining modern techniques with ancestral forms and motives.
More than the gems included the exhibition (or the power they hint at – after all the collection was assembled by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, a member of the Qatari Royal Family...) or the meanings behind them such as the divisions into rank, caste, region of birth, marital status or wealth of the wearer, the event is important for highlighting the complex traditions of the Eastern and Western societies, but also the relationships between them.
Visitors should therefore take the dazzling gems, precious stones and jewels in this exhibition as excuses not to be overwhelmed by the pieces on displays and by the materials they are made of, but to ponder about the importance of exchanges between different cultures and the astonishing results they can produce.
A final note for people who will not be able to visit in person the event - you can still take a virtual tour of the exhibition at this link.
Image credits for this post
Pendant
India, c. 1575–1625
Pearl, gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, glass, enamels
H. 6.6 cm; W. 5.2 cm
The Agra
Cut-cornered, rectangular mixed-cut pink diamond
H. 1.8cm; W. 1.7cm
Rosewater Sprinkler
North India, 1675–1725
Gold, rubies, emeralds, pearls
H 25.5 cm, diameter 10.3 cm
Inscribed in Persian on the base:
64 tola 4 masha / 64 tola 2 masha
© The Al Thani Collection
Turban Ornament
India, c. 1900
Clip, Cartier, Paris, 2012
Gold, silver, emerald, diamonds, pearl
H 11.7 cm, W 12.8 cm
© The Al Thani Collection
Choker
Bulgari, 1978–82
Emeralds, India, c. nineteenth century
Gold, white gold, emeralds, pearls, diamonds, sapphires
L 40.6 cm, W 3.7 cm
© The Al Thani Collection
The Arcot II
India, c. 1760
Modified 1959 and 2011
Diamond
Grade D, internally flawless
H 2.6 cm, W 1.6 cm, D 0.6 cm
weight 17.21 ct
© The Al Thani Collection
Finial from the Throne of Tipu Sultan
Mysore, c. 1787–93
Plinth c. 1800
Gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, lac
Plinth: black marble, gilt metal
H 17.1 cm
Finial H 6.8 cm, W 5.4 cm, D 5.5 cm Plinth H 10.3
cm, W 10 cm, D 10 cm
© The Al Thani Collection
Tipu Sultan's Magic Box,
Mysore, 1782-90
Hammered gold with applied decoration
© The Al Thani Collection
Aigrette
Mellerio dits Meller, Paris, 1905
Gold, platinum, diamonds, enamel
H 15.5 cm, W 6 cm
© The Al Thani Collection
The Maharani of Patiala's Choker
Cartier Paris, 1931; restored and restrung to the original design by Cartier Tradition, Geneva, 2012
Rubies, diamonds, pearls; platinum settings
H. 2.2 cm; L. 33.3 cm
The Nawanagar Ruby Necklace
Cartier, 1937
Platinum, rubies, diamonds
H 20.5 cm, W 19.5 cm
The Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace
India, 1850–75
Gold, diamonds, emerald, enamel
H 26 cm, W 19.6 cm
© The Al Thani Collection
Brooch
Paris, 1910
Designed by Paul Iribe and made by Robert Linzeler
Colombian emerald carved in India, diamonds, pearls and sapphires set in platinum
© The Al Thani Collection
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