Portrait of a gentleman, possibly Richard Salwey, half-length, in fur-trimmed red coat and a turban, leaning on a plinth, 1733 (Salwey was a British merchant who was in Aleppo in 1733. He wears Turkish dress, which many merchants adopted during their stay. Oil on canvas, Andrea Soldi. Right: Kholood Marzook al-Fahad speaking at the event.
By Denise Marray/Gulf Times Correspondent/London
Diplomatic gifts of exotic animals, purebred horses, Chinese porcelain, prized manuscripts, beautifully bejewelled caskets in gold and silver, exquisite perfumes and spices; paintings of historic events that tell a rich story of the political and cultural prerogatives of the day; the constraints and sensitivities around the design and furnishings of embassy buildings – all of these subjects formed part of a stimulating array of presentations at Qatar’s Orientalist Museum’s Orientality Conference held in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Qatar’s Orientalist Museum is dedicated to Orientalism - an influential period in art history, based around Western artists’ first experiences and impressions of the “oriental” East.
Opening the two-day event, Kholood Marzook al-Fahad, curator, Orientalist Museum, Qatar Museums, explained that as part of its work, the museum is building alliances with museums and academic institutions around the world. A permanent home for its collection is expected to be completed in Doha by 2021.
The London event follows
the museum’s inaugural conference held at Cambridge University in 2013.
The presentations by experts from leading museums and universities covered a wide range of subjects. Professor Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Nasser D Khalili Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology Emerita, SOAS, University of London, discussed the selections of gifts exchanged between the Mamluk sultans of Egypt and Syria (1250-1517) and other courts in East and West, from the perspective of Christian-Muslim relations.
She explained that Civet perfume, Balsam oil and Chinese porcelain were particularly appreciated by the Europeans. Interestingly, Chinese porcelain was common tableware to the Mamluks who were happy to send it in generous quantities to their appreciative recipients. The most prized animal, described by Professor Behrens-Abouseif as “the star of the diplomatic gifts”, was the giraffe, which can be seen depicted in Christian art. For example, in Ghirlandaio’s Adoration of the Magi in the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, can be seen a beautifully depicted giraffe, which had been presented to Lorenzo de Medici in 1486 as a diplomatic gift.
Sometimes, diplomatic gifts were downplayed for political reasons. Dr Firuza Melville, director, Pembroke Centre for Persian Studies, University of Cambridge, recounted some very sensitive diplomacy between Russia and Iran in the early 19th century. After almost the entire staff of the Russian embassy in Tehran, including the Russian minister plenipotentiary to the Persian Court, Alexander Griboedev, were massacred in February 1829, there was clearly a need to make amends.
A redemption mission, led by the 16-year-old Qajar Prince Khosrow Mirza, was sent to St Petersburg to apologise for the incident. His youth and the tardiness of the mission raised eyebrows among the Russians, but in fact Prince Khosrow, with his considerable personal charm, succeeded in smoothing over relations and proved a great favourite with his hosts. The gifts he brought with his large entourage were paltry in comparison with those presented by previous delegations – but this was partly to allay any suspicion that the Persian Court had in any way materially profited from the theft of the very valuable artefacts stolen from the Russian embassy at the time of the massacre.
Dr Moya Carey, Iran Heritage Foundation curator for the Iranian Collections, Victoria & Albert Museum, recounted the diplomatic sensitivity around the building of the British embassy in Tehran in 1869. The architect, James Wild, had a strong reputation as a specialist in Middle Eastern design but he found himself at loggerheads with his bosses in London. Budgets were tightly controlled by Whitehall and every detail was scrutinised to achieve a result reflecting how the British wished to be perceived – especially as the Russian embassy, which competed with Britain for influence in the Qajar Court, was close by.
With regard to the interior design of the State Rooms, the plan to imitate the Persian style was thrown out. This was done because it was considered unfeasible to attempt to copy the exquisite craftsmanship of the original, not to mention too expensive. A toned-down neo-classical style was adopted instead. However, Wild did manage to decorate as an Arabesque Hallway a small area leading into the embassy garden. Its decorative plasterwork features somewhat incongruous foliate interlace designs from Mamluk Cairo and Nasrid Granada.
This is just a small sample of the many fascinating insights given by the experts over the two-day conference. It was interesting to hear the reaction of some of those in the audience.
Adriana Turpin, director, Institut d’Etudes Superieures des Arts, UK, who teaches the history of collecting, said: “I think it is a very interesting idea for the Orientalist Museum in Qatar to look at this exchange of ideas between artists from the West and the life they found in the East.
“We think of Orientalism as a western approach to eastern objects and of course it is; but, at the same time it is about the exchange of ideas, because the people who went to the Middle East and North Africa became completely imbued and excited by everything they found.
“We’ve grown out of the idea that Orientalism is simply an imposition of one culture on another; it’s two-way. You need to think of it historically as an attempt to understand – but obviously, within 19th century terms. We can’t rewrite the 19th century; there are many views that we might not agree with now, but I think when we understand it we see that these people were absolutely fascinated by what they saw.”
Dr St John Simpson, curator, Department of the Middle East, The British Museum, said: “I have a current research interest, which is looking at the history of the Middle East through the camera lens as reproduced in postcards. So, I was interested in hearing the presentations today on Orientalism, which are all the different approaches to how the Middle East has been interpreted through the eye of the artist. In a sense, paintings and photographs are all staged and are full of messages. So, hearing the views in this conference as to how people decode those messages and interpret them for a modern audience is I think very instructive.”
Maurizia Onori, undertaking the second year of her Ph.D at the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London, found the conference very stimulating. “This event allows scholars like myself to have the chance to meet other people interested in this particular topic and period and to hear several points of view and consider different approaches,” she said.
