In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art
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This special exhibition showcases some 150 works from the Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art. Largely unpublished and little known, the collection includes important objects from the Persian cultural sphere, such as luxury glazed ceramics of the early Islamic era, illustrated manuscripts of medieval epic poems, and lacquerware of the early modern era. Among the manuscripts are folios of the Shahnama, by Firdawsi, and the Khamsa, by Nizami.
The accompanying catalogue, published by the Harvard Art Museums and distributed by Yale University Press, offers illustrated entries and nine essays written by distinguished scholars and conservation scientists from a broad range of specialties.
Curated by Mary McWilliams, Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art, Harvard Art Museums.
In Harmony marks the first time the museums are using an augmented reality app called Layar in the galleries. The free app, available for iPhone, iPad, or Android devices, gives visitors access to audio, video, and web links for several objects on display.
This exhibition and its accompanying catalogue have been made possible through the generous support of the late Stanford Calderwood.
Watch
Learn more about the exhibition in our series of videos, including a time-lapse recording of the installation of the galleries, as well as a recording of the opening night lecture with Oya Pancaroğlu (Boğaziçi University, Turkey), presenting the lecture “Tables and Other Social Settings in 9th–11th Century Eastern Iran.” vimeo.com/channels/504243
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In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art
Mary McWilliams, with essays by Jessica Chloros and Katherine Eremin, Walter B. Denny, Penley Knipe, Oya Pancaroğlu, David J. Roxburgh, Sunil Sharma, Anthony B. Sigel, and Marianna Shreve Simpson ISBN 978-1-891771-62-0 Available January 2013 304 pages, 9 1/4 × 12 in. 341 color illustrations Hardcover, $75.00 With slipcase Published by the Harvard Art Museums Distributed by Yale University Press Winner, American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Best of New England (BoNE) 2013 Award A major philanthropist from the Boston area, Norma Jean Calderwood assembled an extensive collection of Islamic art, ranging from austere and powerful epigraphic ceramics of the 9th and 10th centuries to the introspective realism of late-19th-century portraiture. With more than fifty pieces of ceramics, the collection represents every significant period and technique in Persian pottery. It has particular strength in illustrations of the greatest epic poem in the Persian language, the Shahnama (Book of Kings) by Abu’l-Qasim Firdawsi, and also includes beautiful examples of album painting, drawing, and calligraphy. Nine essays by diverse experts explore issues of conservation as well as the cultural and historical significance of various objects in this largely unpublished collection. Topics include the influence of calligraphic line and physical gesture on Safavid drawings; figurative imagery on Iranian ceramics; and what cobalt pigment reveals about an object’s origins. Mary McWilliams is Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Harvard Art Museums; Jessica Chloros is Assistant Objects Conservator, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; Walter B. Denny is Professor of Art History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Katherine Eremin is Patricia Cornwell Conservation Scientist, Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museums; Penley Knipe is Philip and Lynn Straus Conservator of Works of Art on Paper, Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museums; Oya Pancaroğlu is Associate Professor of History, Boğaziçi University; David J. Roxburgh is Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professor of Islamic Art History, Harvard University; Sunil Sharma is Associate Professor of Persianate and Comparative Literature, Boston University; Anthony B. Sigel is Conservator of Objects and Sculpture, Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museums; and Marianna Shreve Simpson is an independent scholar.
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In Harmony Brings to Light the Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art
Visitors to the Sackler Museum will soon have the chance to see a stunning collection of luxury glazed ceramics, illustrated manuscripts of medieval epic poems, and lacquerware collected by Norma Jean Calderwood, who dedicated much of her life to studying and teaching Islamic art. In Harmony: The No...