Resnick Pavilion
June 5, 2011–September 5, 2011
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles California 90036
Gifts of the Sultan explores Islamic art through the universal tradition of gift giving. Many of the most spectacular and historically significant examples of Islamic art can be classified as gifts, a number of which will be brought together for the unique purpose of this exhibition to demonstrate the integral and complex nature of gift exchange in the Islamic world.
The exhibition spans the eighth through nineteenth centuries and includes 200 works of art representing a rich variety of media from three continents. These spectacular works of art are associated with the great Islamic courts from Spain to India, where gift giving was a fundamental activity. Gifts were intended to further diplomatic and political ambitions; as rewards for services rendered; to celebrate annual events like the New Year or more personal occasions such as weddings, and as expressions of piety, often associated with the construction or enhancement of religious monuments.
The exhibition also includes a small contemporary component with new work by Sadegh Tirafkhan, Shahzia Sikander, and Ahmed Mater, who were commissioned to interpret the theme of the exhibition.
LACMA Event Page :https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/gifts-sultan-arts-giving-islamic-courts
