Ancient to Modern: Pottery from circa 2000 BC to 2000 AD exhibition
December 4 – 8, 2023
This exhibition, in collaboration with the renowned sculptural ceramicist Nicholas Rena, showcases ancient pottery from pre-historic Iran through to ancient Rome beside Rena’s bold, monochrome ceramics.
Northern India
First half of the 18th century
Height: 19 cm
Of spherical form with a short, ridged flaring neck, gold-painted in reserve with twelve vertical leaves around the body, each filled with a painted floral garland, the shoulder painted with a scallop-edged twelve-petal lotus encircling the neck, the latter with twelve vertical leaf motifs.
Five closely related green glass huqqa bottles are known, four in museum collections: British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Musee Guimet, Paris and the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait.
This finely potted bowl depicts an important ruler, the grandeur of his throne and the fact that he is nimbate reinforcing his status. It has been suggested that, due to the presence of six digits on his left hand, it may depict the great founder of the Mongol empire, Genghis Khan (1162-1227), who in the course of his lifetime conquered most of Asia.
Of shallow form, painted in underglaze cobalt, bole red and green with black outlines on a white ground, with a spray of speckled tulips flanking a vase of carnations, sprays of roses to either side, breaking wave motifs on the rim, the reverse with six paired tulips alternating with flower-heads encircling the foot-ring; pierced for suspension.
Calcutta
c. 1820
Opaque watercolour on paper, with pencil, pen and grey ink
Watermarked J WHATMAN
Inscribed in Persian with the name of the bird, anjan
50.5 x 68 cm.
A large and finely painted image that in many ways epitomises the triumph of Company School painting. When Lady Impey’s ornithological albums, commissioned by her in Calcutta in the 1770s, were seen by the scientific community in England following her return around 1808, they caused a sensation. Never before had such realistic images been seen and their reception was rightly lauded. Here, perhaps forty years later, the tradition has been perfected by artists responding to decades of British patronage. However, the political and economic scene was about to change and within ten years the genre had declined and would soon vanish.
Ancient to Modern: Pottery from circa 2000 BC to 2000 AD
December 4 – 8, 2023
In collaboration with the renowned sculptural ceramicist Nicholas Rena, this exhibition showcases ancient pottery from pre-historic Iran through to ancient Rome besides Rena’s bold, monochrome ceramics at Pall Mall.
To learn more and view the online exhibition catalogue, click here.
RECENT PAST CATALOG
Four Rivers from Eden: Works of Art and Paintings from the Islamic and Indian World
Our October 2023 catalogue contains a wonderful selection of Indian and Islamic ceramics including Iznik pottery and tiles, glass and paintings, as well as Ottoman arms and silver.
A large Indian Company School watercolor of a grey heron is one of the outstanding watercolors we are offering during this Asia Week Autumn 2023 season. When Lady Impey’s ornithological albums, commissioned by her in Calcutta in the 1770s, were seen by the scientific community in England following her return around 1808, they caused a sensation. Never had such realistic images been seen and their reception was rightly lauded. Here, perhaps forty years later, the tradition has been perfected by artists responding to decades of British patronage. However, the political and economic scene was about to change and within ten years the genre had declined and would soon vanish.
