An historic, scholarly exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum "Luxury for Export: A 17th-Century Indian Textile made for Portugal" will be on view from February 8 to May 4, 2008.
In the early 1500s Portugal established trading centers in India, the first European outposts in Asia. The Portuguese soon began to order objects that combined European and Indian forms, and grew in sophistication and luxury. This exhibition considers the work produced in India around 1600 for export or trade.
The focus of the project is the Gardner Museum's remarkable embroidery made in Bengal, India, during the 1600s. Unique in coloring, it depicts a triumphal arch celebrating the imperial power of Portugal. Visual sources traveled quickly around the globe even in the 17th century, mingling cultures and ideas. A rich pageant of exotic animals, elaborately dressed hunters, and fantastical creatures also enliven the textile.
While exploring the multiple associations of the Indian textile, the exhibition will feature other precious objects made in India at the same time for Portuguese consumers. Opulent and precious objects made of ivory, mother of pearl, crystal, or wood show the range of production in India.
Subjects vary from Christian images (made both for Portugal and the Islamic Mughal court) to delicate boxes and a portable chess set. Some of the finest examples of these works are held by museums in the Boston area, and they will be brought together for the first time in this exhibition. -- www.gardnermuseum.org
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