Collection

Casket, Gujarat, ca. 1600, Wood coated with a colored resin and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, silver mounts, Height 19.5 cm, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Left
  • Casket, Gujarat, ca. 1600, Wood coated with a colored resin and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, silver mounts, Height 19.5 cm, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
  • Detail, Wall Hanging: Triumphal Arch, Bengal, mid-17th century, Silk embroidery on blue silk ground, with cotton backing, Height 267 cm, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
  • Virgin and Child with Angels, European artist working in India, ca. 1600, Oil and gold on paper. Page: Mughal artist, ca. 1600: gold with wash and watercolor on paper. Height 42.2 cm, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge
  • Casket, Sri Lanka, probably Kotte, ca. 1550, Carved ivory; gold mounts set with rubies, turquoises, sapphires, and rock, crystal. Height 11 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
  • Chair, Bay of Bengal, 16th century, Carved, lacquered, and gilded wood, and cane. Height 65 cm, Museu d’Història de la Ciutat de Barcelona, Museu Monestir de Pedralbes
  • Folding Game Board, Malabar Coast, late 17th century, Wood, ivory (partly stained in green), brass, silver, and iron hinges, Chess pieces: 17th or 18th century, ivory and ebony, width 53 cm, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
  • Christ Child, Sri Lanka, second half of the 16th century, Carved rock crystal; gold mounts set with rubies and sapphires, Height 13.7 cm, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
  • Ewer, Gujarat, ca. 1600, Wood core covered with mother-of-pearl, fixed by brass pins, Height 23 cm Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
  • Christ Child (Salvator Mundi), Portuguese India or the Philippines, late 17th century, Carved, gilded, and painted ivory. Height 46.5 cm, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
  • Gourd Cup, probably Goa, early 17th century, Unidentified gourd, silver filigree mounts, Height 10.2 cm Távora Sequeira Pinto Collection, Porto
  • Writing Cabinet, Malabar Coast, 17th century, Wood, ivory, and iron. Width 40.5 cm, Távora Sequeira Pinto Collection, Porto
  • Jewel Cabinet, probably Gujarat, early 17th century, Tortoiseshell (painted in part), wood, ivory, and metal; width 31.5 cm, Távora Sequeira Pinto Collection, Porto
Right
 

Luxury For Export: Artistic Exchange between India and Portugal around 1600

February 8-May 4, 2008

In the early 1500s the Portuguese established trading ports throughout the Indian Ocean, initiating an extensive commercial network that soon stretched throughout Asia. Portuguese traders returned to Europe with luxury objects of superb artistry, often fashioned from exotic materials. In turn, European works of art were eagerly sought by the Mughal emperors who ruled much of the Indian Subcontinent by 1600. The precious objects in this exhibition - made of ivory, mother-of-pearl, crystal, gold, and gemstones - vividly illustrate this dynamic exchange.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a rare silk embroidery made in Bengal specifically for export to Portugal. Unique in imagery, the textile depicts a triumphal arch surrounded by a myriad of birds, beasts, and humans, making it one of the richest and most fascinating products of trade between India and the West in the 17th century.

Curated by Pedro Moura Carvalho.

Visit the Luxury for Export microsite to learn more.

Luxury for Export is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.