Art Informant

In this episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Rachel Parikh, doctor in Islamic and Indian art history and curator specialised in arms and armours. Rachel and Isabelle started talking and didn’t see the time go by, ending up with a very long episode. After a vote on Instagram, it was decided that the episode would be divided in two, Part 1 focusing on Rachel’s career, her research on the Falnama manuscript in the Khalili collection, and her shift to curating, while Part 2 will be dedicated solely to arms and armours. 

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 Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links 

• Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter
• Follow Rachel Parikh on Instagram
• Rachel Parikh, The Khalili Falnama, London: Khalili Foundation, 2022
• Exhibition "Power and Piety: Islamic Talismans on the Battlefield", curated by Rachel Parikh
• Click here for more episodes of the ART Informant.

 Click here to see the reproductions of artefacts discussed in the episode. 

 In this episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Esra Alhamal, doctor in design and visual artist specialised in Islamic illumination. Esra has been researching and creating biomorphic patterns for many years, as well as teaching the art of illumination in London and creating her own paint with natural pigment from a Medieval recipe. In the episode, we talk about her artistic practice, as well as her research on Safavid biomorphic pattern in architectural ceramic. She is also a fellow host of the Art Illuminated podcast, in which she interviews artists and makers working with traditional techniques.

 If you've liked this episode and want to support, by me a coffee! 

Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links 

• Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter 
• Follow Esra on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Read Esra's doctoral dissertation from the University of East London (open access)
• Follow the Art Illuminated podcast on Instagram
• Website of Art Illuminated, home of the podcast and illumination courses 
• Bristle and Brush, natural paint shop
• Website of Farkhondeh Ahmadzadeh, Esra's teacher
• Follow Ayten Tiryaki, calligraphy and illumination master, on Instagram 
• Click here for more episodes of the ART Informant.

 Click here to see the reproductions of artefacts discussed in the episode. 

In today’s episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Firuza Melville, director of research of Cambridge Shahnama centre for Persian Studies and eminent specialist of the Persian poet Firdausi (c. 933-1020) and his Shahnama, the book of kings telling the epic history of Iran before Islam. The text was illustrated many times, including under the reign of Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-76). His manuscript was finished around 1535 and is considered by most as the pinnacle of Persian painting. Pages of the manuscript sometimes appear on the market, and one page will be sold at Sotheby's on the 26th October, so it is a perfect time to invite a great specialist to talk about the text, the manuscript and its history. 

Firuza’s computer made some impromptu interventions at different points of the recording, which I couldn’t remove. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope it won’t be too distracting.

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Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links

• Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter 
• Follow Firuza on Instagram and Academia
• The Cambridge Shahnama Centre for Persian Studies
• Database of the Shahnama project in Cambridge Digital Library 
• Florentine Shahnama, oldest surviving manuscript of the Shahnama, dated 614 H./ 1217
• Sotheby's catalogue: Rustam recovers Rakhsh from Afrasiyab's herd, Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, attributed to Mirza 'Ali, Persia, Tabriz, Royal Atelier, circa 1525-35
• Pages of Shah Tahmasp's Shahnama in the Metropolitan Museum 
• Click here for more episodes of the ART Informant.

 
 Click here to see the reproductions of artefacts discussed in the episode. 

Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Melanie Gibson, Art Historian specialised in Islamic ceramics, editor of the art history series at Ginkgo library, and board member and scientific advisor of the Leighton House in London. Melanie has been involved in teaching, research and edition for many years and has a wealth of experience to share. She has also participated in the restoration of the Arab hall in the London house of 19th century British artist Frederick Leighton, which will reopen to the public on the 15th October. Melanie gives us a tour of the house and explain in great details the intricacies of its breathtaking decors and the constitution of Leighton's collection.

 If you've liked this episode and want to support, by me a coffee!

Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links 

• Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter
• Follow Melanie Gibson on Instagram and Academia
  • Melanie Gibson, "'An Oriental Kiosk': The Building of the 'Arab Hall' at Leighton House in London", Orientations, 2020 (on academia.edu)
• Gingko Library's website 
  • Essays in Honour of Carol and Robert Hillenbrand, 2022
  • Barbara Brend, Treasures of Herat, Two Manuscripts of the Khamsah of Nizami in the British Library, 2022
• Leighton House, London (official website)
• Shahrzad Ghaffari's website (artist responsible for the new mural in Leighton House)
• Owen Jones, The Grammar of Ornament, 1856 (on archive.org)
• Click here for more episodes of the ART Informant.

 Click here to see the reproductions of artefacts discussed in the episode. 

For the first episode of Season 2, Dr Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Mehreen Chida-Razvi, in-house editor and deputy curator in the Khalili collection of Islamic Arts, and specialist of Mughal architecture. The Mughal empire reigns between 1526 and 1857 on a territory that encompass, at its peak, modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, parts of Afghanistan, parts of Tibet, so talking about Mughal architecture is no small feat. Through the tombs, palaces and mosques, Mehreen gives some insights in what we call today Mughal architecture, its patronage, stylistic evolution, and the inherent challenges of its preservation. 

 Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links

Click here to see the reproductions of artefacts discussed in the episode. 

In the last episode of the first season of the ART Informant, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Patricia Blessing, Assistant Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture. Patricia specialises in the history of architecture in medieval Turkey. She published her first book in 2014, titled Rebuilding Anatolia after the Mongol Conquest: Islamic Architecture in the Lands of Rūm, 1240–1330, and is presenting today her second book, forthcoming in July 2022, Architecture and Material Politics in the Fifteenth-century Ottoman Empire (Cambridge University Press). Through the book, Isabelle and Patricia discuss multisensory architecture, artistic networks, the evolution of Turkish Ottoman architecture and the process of publishing a scientific book.

If you've liked this episode and want to support, please consider donating.

 Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links 

•  Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter
• Patricia Blessing, Architecture and Material Politics in the Fifteenth-century Ottoman Empire, Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming July 2022. 
• Patricia Blessing, Rebuilding Anatolia after the Mongol Conquest: Islamic Architecture in the Lands of Rūm, 1240–1330, Ashgate, 2014.
• Olga Bush, Reframing the Alhambra, Architecture, Poetry, Textiles and Court Ceremonial, Edinburgh University Press, 2018.
• Sensory Reflections, Traces of Experience in Medieval Artifacts, in Sense, Matter, and Medium, vol. 1, Fiona Griffiths, Kathryn Starkey (eds.), De Gruyter, 2019.
• Deborah Howard and Laura Moretti, Sound and Space in Renaissance Venice: Architecture, Music, Acoustics, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009 (unavailable on the publisher's website but can be purchased second hand on other specialised websites). 
• Bissera V. Pentcheva, Hagia Sophia: Sound, Space, and Spirit in Byzantium, University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2017.
• Michael Meinecke, Patterns of Stylistic Changes in Islamic Architecture, Local Traditions Versus Migrating Artists, New York University Press, 1996.
• Sara Nur Yıldız, “From Cairo to Ayasuluk: Hacı Paşa and the Transmission of Islamic Learning to Western Anatolia in the Late Fourteenth Century,” Journal of Islamic Studies 25, no. 3 (2014): 263–97.
• Gülru Necipoğlu, The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005 (unavailable on the publisher's website but can be purchased second hand on other specialised websites).
• Gülru Necipoğlu, Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power – The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991.

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In today’s episode,  Isabelle Imbert takes a small step aside from what is generally considered as Islamic art to welcome Davinder Toor, published art collector specialised in the artistic productions of the Sikh, a religion born in the hills of Punjab in India in the 16th century, and practised today around the world. Davinder first took an interest in Sikh art when he was 17 years old, and started actively collecting a few years later. In the episode, they talk about the conception of his extensive collection and how he approaches acquisitions and deaccessions, but also about the growing market of Sikh art, the inherent risks for new collectors, and storytelling through art for the current and the next generations of Sikhs.

If you've liked this episode and want to support, please consider donating.

Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links 

• Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter
•  Follow Davinder on Instagram
• Davinder Toor's personal website and Toor Collection's website
• In the Pursuit of Empire, Treasures from the Toor collection of Sikh Art, Kashi House, 2018
• Punjab Heritage Association
• A History of the world in 100 objects, Neil McGregor, BBC
• Sikh artists mentioned by Davinder:
  • Jatinder Singh Durhailay (London)
  • Keerat Kaur (Canada)
  • Suman Kaur (UK)
• Click here for more episodes of the ART Informant. 

Click here to see the reproductions of objects discussed in the episode. 

In this episode of the ART Informant, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Rim Mezghani, expert in Islamic and Indian art and founder of the newly created Parisian auction house, Rim Encheres. Rim has worked for the most prestigious galleries and auction houses, but also has an unconventional background that has helped her become a unique brand on the art market. Since November 2021, she holds thematic auctions, the next one scheduled for the 17th May. This inspirational interview was also the opportunity to discuss the importance of Drouot, the Parisian market place, and the difficulty to define Islamic arts. 

If you've liked this episode and want to support, please consider donating. 

Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links 

• Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter
• Follow Rim Mezghani on Instagram, LinkedIn and Youtube and visit her website
• Follow Rim Encheres on Instagram and visit the website
• Rim Encheres 17th May 2022 auction catalogue
• Website of Drouot, Paris
• Click here for more episodes of the ART Informant.

Click here to see the reproductions of artefacts discussed in the episode. 

In the 12th episode of the ART Informant, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Nicoletta Fazio, Curator of Iranian Lands in the Museum of Islamic Art of Doha, Qatar. Since she joined the museum in 2018, she and the team have been working on the relaunch of the galleries, scheduled for the end of this year. Before moving to Doha, Nicoletta spent several years working in the Museum fur Islamische Kunst in Berlin, so it was interesting talking about the transition between Germany and Qatar, as well as the differences in curatorial practices, especially around religious themes. Through this conversation, Nicoletta opened a window into the mind of a curator! 

If you've liked this episode and want to support, please consider donating.

Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links 

• Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter
• Follow Nicoletta Fazio on Instagram and Academia
• Website of the Museum of Islamic Arts, Doha
• YouTube interview with Julia Gonnella on the reopening of the Museum of Islamic Arts of Doha 
• Thalia Kennedy, Jo Hargreaves, Aisha al Khater, "A study of visitor behaviour at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha", in Karen Exell, Sarina Wakefield, Museums of Arabia, Transnational Practices and Regional Processes, London: Routledge, 2016
• YouTube: Museum Series - The Curation and Influence of Islamic Art in Museums Today
• Click here for more episodes of the ART Informant.

Click here to see the reproductions of objects discussed in the episode.

In the 11th episode of the ART Informant, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Beatrice Campi, Head of Islamic and Indian art at Chiswick auction, London. Isabelle was quite ill with the flu but was able to host an insightful exchange on many important topics, such as the impact of Brexit on London’s art market and what NFTs could mean for our field. We also discussed in length some of her and my favourite  items from her upcoming auctions on the 29th April.

 If you've liked this episode and want to support, please consider donating.

Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links 

• Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter
• Follow Beatrice Campi on Instagram
• Follow Ghislaine Howard, Department Coordinator, on Instagram
• Catalogue Islamic Art - Property of a European Collector Part III, 29th April, 11:00
• Catalogue Islamic and Indian Art, 29th April, 13:00
• Joko Susilo research on Indonesian shadow puppet theatre 
• Click here for more episodes of the ART Informant.

Click here to see the reproductions of artworks discussed in the episode