Gifts of the Sultans: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts

Helmet - "Jericho cap"
Turkey, the late XVIth century. Damask steel, silver, silk fabric. Forging, embossing, damascening with gold, carving.
Chest band (paperst)
Turkey, the XVIIth century. Gold, silver, iron, embossing, weaving, gilding.
Decorative bridle (ogolov)
Turkey, the XVIIth century. Gold, silver, iron, inlay, gilding, embossing.
Stirrups
Turkey, the XVIIth century. Gold, iron,precious stones, inlay, gilding, embossing.
Dagger and scabbard
Iran, first half of the XVIIIth century. Damask steel, gold, rubies, forging, carving, repoussé.
Bowl of Tsar Mikhail Romanov
Turkey, the XVIIth century. Gold, nephrite, precious stones, carving, overlay ornament.
Writing set
Turkey, the XVIIth century. Silver, gold, lazurite, hollow carving, enamel, drawn golden wire.
Matara-flask (waterskin)
Turkey, the XVIIth century. Leather, flattened silver wire, silk, nephrite, silver, rock crystal, rubies, emeralds, gold, glass, gilding, embroidery, carving.
Ceremonial pernat
Iran, mid XVIIth century. Gold, wood, turquoise, casting, carving, inlay.
Shroud
Iran, the XVIIth century. Velvet, satin.
Ceremonial shield
Turkey, the XVIIth century. Leather, gold, lazurite, hollow carving, enamel, drawn golden wire.
Cover
Iran, the late XVIIth century. Brocade, cotton cloth, weaving.
Saddle
Turkey, mid XVIIth century. Gold, silver, copper, embossing, weaving, embroidery.

March, 19, 2012 - June, 02, 2012

Qatar, Doha, the Museum of Islamic Art

Organized by:: the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), the David Collection, Copenhagen, the British Library, London, the British Museum, London, the Keir Collection, London, the Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, London, the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (RAS), the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Bibliothèquenationale de France, Paris, the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin, the Benaki Museum, Athens, the National Museum of Iran, Tehran, the SadeghTirafkan and Assar Gallery, Tehran, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, the Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, the MuseuCalousteGulbenkian, Lisbon, the National Library of Russia, Saint-Petersburg, the State Hermitage Museum, Saint-Petersburg, the State Historical-Cultural Museum Preserve "The Moscow Kremlin", Moscow, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Geneva, the Günseli Kato, Istanbul, the Millet Manuscript Library, Istanbul, the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul, the TopkapiSaray Museum, Istanbul, the Asia Society, New York, the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, Los Angeles, the Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA, the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, the ShahziaSikander and Sikkemma Jenkins& Co., New York, the Worcester Art Museum

Helmet - "Jericho cap" The exhibition, assembled in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar, explores the history of the tradition of gift giving and its impact on the development of culture and arts in the Islamic world. Practiced in all societies, gift exchange has a history as ancient as humanity itself. At courts throughout the Islamic world from Spain to India, this kind of activity has been influencing greatly not only the production of deluxe works of art but also the politics, diplomacy, religion, and interpersonal relations.

The project spans over the XVth through XIXth centuries and incorporates over 200 rare and precious works of art related to the practice of gift exchange among the courts of Islam and with those of Byzantium, Western Europe, and Eastern Asia. Many of the most historically significant examples of Islamic art, brought together specially for the display, had been either commissioned or repurposed as gifts. Through the unique histories of selected artworks, the exhibition is intended to reveal a central role played by the exchange of luxury objects in the circulation, emulation, and assimilation of artistic forms within and beyond the Islamic world.

The project was organized with the support of the renowned museums, libraries and private collections of Russia, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland, Turkey and USA. 16 exhibits from the Moscow Kremlin funds are on display within the exposition, including pieces of jewellery, precious tableware, armour and arms, horse trappings, interior utensils. Crafted by Turkish and Iranian goldsmiths in the XVIIth century, these remarkable artworks were presented as diplomatic gifts to the Russian tsars Mikhail Fyodorovich and Alexis Mikhailovich as well as to the members of their families.