The Al Thani collection's broad chronological range makes it unique: Susan Stronge

The India Season at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, has kickstarted with a series of landmark exhibitions such as “Captain Linnaeus Tripe: Photographs of India and Burma, 1854-1860” and “The Fabric of India”. The idea is not just to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Nehru Gallery but also to offer an insight into how art shaped the cultural ethos of the subcontinent. And now, with its upcoming exhibition, “Bejewelled Treasures: the Al Thani Collection”, the museum is identifying factors that cemented India’s position in the 18th-19th century as an international market for precious stones and how contemporary artists like Viren Bhagat are blending traditional motifs with modern sensibilities. Curator Susan Stronge speaks to Avantika Bhuyan about the growing focus on contemporary Indian art and how jewellery helps trace a country’s socioeconomic history

How do various sections of the exhibition — The Treasury, The Court, Enamel, Modernity and Contemporary Masters — take a viewer through the changing socioeconomic and cultural ethos of India, from the Mughal era to now?

The very large spinels, both in the Al Thani collection and on loan from the British Royal Collection, reflect the seismic shift from ancient gemmological traditions reflected in Sanskrit texts to a different order under the Mughals. In the Mughal treasury, spinels from Badakhshan were valued more highly than any other stone, including diamonds, and 17th century paintings show that the emperors wore sapphires. In Hindu tradition, however, these were worn rarely, and with caution, due to their potentially malign influence.  

In the 20th century, there were clear and direct exchanges across continents as India inspired European jewellers like Cartier, Mellerio dits Meller and Lacloche Freres — all of which are represented in the exhibition.

The exhibition draws 100 objects from a single private collection. What is the significance of the Al Thani collection and how does it reflect on Indian jewellery traditions?

The Al Thani collection includes a spectacular range of jewels made in the Indian subcontinent or inspired by the region’s arts to celebrate the delicate art of the jeweller. The broad chronological range of pieces in the collection, which span the early 17th century to the present day, makes the Al Thani collection unique in its field. The collection includes important historic pieces from India, such as the earliest dated Mughal jade owned by the Emperor Jahangir (1569-1627) as well as a jade-hilted dagger inscribed with the title of the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan. Other examples include a diamond given to Queen Charlotte by the Nawab of Arcot in 1767 and a jewelled jade-hilted dagger once owned by Robert Clive, also known as “Clive of India” who was the Commander-in-Chief of British India.

How are contemporary artists like JAR (Paris) and Mumbai-based Bhagat blending tradition with modern influences?

Though neither JAR or Bhagat use traditional Indian techniques, both draw on motifs from the artistic part of the subcontinent, recreating them in their own distinctive contemporary idiom. One jewel by JAR, for instance, is inspired by Mughal architecture. The overall form echoes the recessed arches of Mughal monuments, such as those seen on the Taj Mahal built during the reign of the emperor Shah Jahan. The delicate openwork tracery on the back derives from the openwork screens or jalis of Indian palaces.

Bhagat also borrows from imperial Mughal architecture in a platinum brooch set with diamonds and pearls in a form directly inspired by a motif from a royal Mughal tomb in Agra completed in 1628. The simple, clear outlines of Bhagat’s jewellery designs recall those of 19th-century Rajasthan jewellery drawings. They are in complete and deliberate contrast to the heavy gold gem-encrusted jewellery of traditional India.

How is Indian contemporary art being perceived internationally?

In the field of jewellery, unlike textiles, no contemporary designer has had an international profile, until relatively recently. Bhagat is generally acknowledges as a unique figure, whose work is becoming increasingly sought after outside India.