treasures of the maharajas: the dazzling al-thani indian jewelry collection - indian costume jewelry

For centuries, the emperors of India have commissioned extraordinary royal jewelry.
No one is better than Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah al-
His work spans the 17 th.
The Mughal Empire of the 21 st centuryCentury Cartier
This month, Al-
The Sani collection continues on display at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, where the Prince of Qatar explains many aspects of his passion for precious gems in an exclusive interview.
His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah
The CEO of Qipco, a large holding company in Qatar, and Emir's first cousin, Thani, is someone who is used to getting what he wants.
But not all desires are predictable.
For example, one day in October 2009, he visited an exhibition called "the glory of the Royal Court of India" at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Sheikh Hamad was fascinated by the art of the old Indian courts and the extraordinary wealth.
Sheikh, who had never even been to India at the time, will soon begin to look around the world for his own royal Indian "splendor", The Treasures of majarajas, the treasures are ruby, emerald, gold, jade and Pearl.
"When you are a collector of energy, passion, level of knowledge and resources, what you can do is amazing, "Invited Sheikh Hamad's V & a curator, Amin Jaffer, 27, to attend the Maharaja exhibition and later served as director of Asian Art International at Christie's. Advise him on his acquisition.
He did it.
Five years after he left the Victoria and Albert exhibitions, this is a new and iconic exhibition of Indian wealth ---
Treasures from India at the Metropolitan Museum of Art--
All from Al-
Collection.
Across the fine Indian jewelry of 400, from the Mughal heritage masterpiece to Cartier's Art Deco work, to mahalaja --
Inspired by contemporary designers, there is no similar collection on this planet.
Sheikh Hamad's passion for collection remains strong.
He remembered the vision of the Victoria and Albert performances very well.
"There is no doubt," he said, "What impressed me most was the Mughal Sapphire headscarf decorations that Navab Mill Jafar gave to Admiral Charles Watson at 1757.
"At Watson sapuk, part of the V & A permanent collection, you can find at least three ideal seeds for flowering results that will drive the next hunting of Sheikh: extremely Precious, set with gold, rubies, emeralds, diamonds and Sapphire;
Gorgeous work;
It has the most elusive attributes: a clear, verifiable historical source.
Create a historical end of Watson's decorative anchor Al-Mughal period
The Thani series, for good reason: Mughals has created one of the most unconstrained luxury craft heritage in history.
The greedy empire, which claimed to be descendants of Genghis Khan, swept across the Indian subcontinent in the 16 th century and hovered as Dynasty rulers until 1857.
They are greedy, not to mention greedy, they are treasure lovers and soon know that Indian artisans in their new territory are bringing games to jewelry art at levels they have never imagined.
"Mughals discovered this absolute commitment to the Indian subcontinent jewelry art, which led to a magic," said Navina Haidar, Met curator in charge of the Indian Treasures Exhibition, which lasted until January 25, 2015.
"They were born to love jewelry, to have a wealth of knowledge, and then to discover something beyond their own experience.
"As a customer, a predator, a collector and a connoisseur on a land that has rich mines and the world --
Across the business, the Mughal rulers assembled the coffers, which became the envy of the sticky peoplefingered world.
The best works so far have a misplacement, Aladdin's cave --fantasy impact.
For example, there are masterpieces of Al-
Collection-
A slender dagger whose sword handle is carved from a piece of jade with a carved European head on the top.
Just know that the sword handle was designed for the Mughal emperor Jahangir (
He wears a dagger of about 1630.
His son, the blade of Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, will give it enough reward. (Samuel F. B.
Morse is also considered the boss. )
But the delicate nature of the object itself, the tiny presented head, is probably a Renaissance European boy --style curls--
Or it may be imitated by Goan's description of Christ. -
From the historical level to the field of art.
The dagger has surfaced in the United States. K.
The market in the 1970 s and reappeared at the Victoria and Albert exhibitions in the 1980 s and then disappeared again.
"I heard from a museum curator that a private collector might be persuaded to sell it to an important collection," recalls Jaffer . ".
"We have to introduce.
I spoke to several dealers and finally found someone who knew the owner and agreed to act as an intermediary.
It took a very, very long time.
After all, this is an important thing. there is a lot of emotion in selling it.
We have to achieve a value in some way. -
There is no parallel in this piece.
Finally, I think it will take about a year from start to finish.
"The other acquisitions are more deus ex machina.
"My biggest surprise came from a text message I received at Pierre Hotel on September 2012," Jaffer said . ".
"A friend told me that Cartier has a famous layering --
Ruby necklace made by Jacques Cartier [in 1931]
The King of pattiara.
This is a piece I know very well through photos and research, but I never thought I would deal with it because we thought it had been lost for years.
"Soon, I contacted kattier, who sent me the photo and confirmed that the photo was the same.
We immediately put it on hold and Sheikh Hamad watched it from Cartier, who flew from Hong Kong to Paris.
He got it a week later.
It was a great moment for collections, but it was unexpected.
Sheikh Hamad himself had some surprises.
He said: "The greatest discovery in the collection is the round gem of Mughal --
Pendant set.
I got it because of its beauty and the skilled technology needed in creation.
It was not until later that he discovered its hidden history: "The inscription with the weight engraved inside confirmed that the pendant belonged to the imperial treasury.
"A person with a large number of objects of astonishments 63 in other emergencies
His work on display in the metropolitan area.
It seems unusual if such a young collection can get an exhibition of this size, and Met curator Haider has a gentle answer: "It's one of the few private collections in the world.
"It spans the jewelry of the 400 s and has real masterpieces in every period," Jaffer added . ".
"This is a series with advantages.
There are also some other great Indian jewelry collections that are concentrated in a particular dynasty, period, or region.
This collection looks at the evolution of Indian jewelry from the 17 th century to the present.
From this point of view, it is not equal.