Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj
July 25 to October 4, 2009 | Brittingham Galleries VI
Chazen Presents an Exhibition of Indian Silver Made for the British Empire
Madison, Wisconsin—The Chazen Museum of Art presents Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj, a selection of expertly decorated silverware produced by craftsmen from different regions of India during the Raj (British colonial rule between 1858 and 1947). The work, never before exhibited, is on view July 25 through October 4, 2009. Admission is free.
Delight in Design includes more than 150 pieces of silverware that reflect a remarkable array of tastes. Indian silversmiths created the work for European customers and catered to colonial tastes and demand. The forms, such as tea services, bowls, claret jugs, goblets, and beer mugs, were not historically used in Indian culture. Yet the design—a word used at the time to indicate pattern, figuration, and all manner of embellishment—displayed an innate Indian fondness for decoration. The ornate surfaces displayed native skills, motifs, and design.
The exhibition is organized to highlight the distinctive regional styles that emerged across India during British rule. Kutch silversmiths often created heavily embossed work that incorporated animal forms—a twisted snake for a handle, an elephant head as a spout. Madras artisans decorated their work with images of gods, or Swamis, carried in procession accompanied by music and dance; this ware is called Swami silver (god silver). Calcutta pieces are embellished with rural scenes, such as men and women carrying water, husking grain, or plowing fields against a backdrop of palm trees and village huts.
The finest examples of Raj silver appear to have been created between 1860 and 1920. Much of it was ordered by the British stationed in India from the catalogs of local firms like P. Orr & Sons, in Madras, or from workshop drawings like those from Oomersee Mawjee and Sons, in Kutch (some of these drawings are included in the exhibition). Inscriptions engraved on silverware indicate that such objects were gifts for christenings and weddings, trophies for winners of polo and other sporting events, and mementos presented upon retirement from service. Even larger quantities of silver were imported into Britain and Europe.
Reception
Friday, September 11
5:30 p.m. pre-reception lecture by exhibition curator Vidya Dehejia.
6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Free public exhibition reception with music by carnatic classical saxophonist Sumanth Swaminathan and Indian vocalist Vanitha Suresh.
Films
Saturday, September 12
7:30 p.m. The UW Cinematheque screens "Shatranj Ke Khiladi" ("The Chess Players"), 1977, directed by Satyajit Ray, 113 minutes, in Urdu with English subtitles. 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors at 7 p.m.
In 1856, British East India Company officials move to annex the wealthy kingdom of Awadh. Ignoring warnings of impending danger, the ruler and local landlords indulge their obsession with chess. The game becomes a political metaphor as the British maneuver to capture Awadh’s king.
For updates visit Cinematheque
Friday, September 18
7:30 p.m. The UW Cinematheque screens "Lagaan," 2001, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, 224 minutes, in Hindi with English subtitles. 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors at 7 p.m.
The people of a small village in colonial India (1893) hope that they will be excused from paying "lagaan," the crippling land tax imposed by the British. Their fate is tied to winning a game of cricket, a game they don’t know. For updates visit Cinematheque
Teacher Workshop
“The British in India: Art, Culture, and Society”
Workshop for Middle- and High-School Teachers September 10-13, 2009
Pyle Center, UW-Madison
The UW-Madison Center for South Asia will sponsor a workshop about British rule in India for middle- and high-school teachers. This workshop is presented in conjunction with the Chazen Museum of Art exhibition "Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj," on view through October 4, 2009.
For more information about the workshop and to register, please contact Rachel Weiss, Center for South Asia at(608) 262-9224 or email:
rweiss@southasia.wisc.edu.
Information can also be found through the
Center for South Asia Outreach web site.
The deadline to register for the workshop is August 25, 2009.
A fully illustrated exhibition catalogue will be available
for purchase in the Museum Shop.
Works from the collection of Paul F. Walter form the basis of Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj. The exhibition and tour are organized by the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University. Generous local support for this exhibition has been provided by the Chazen Museum of Art Council, Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts, Brittingham Fund, and Hilldale Fund.
Madison, Wisconsin—The Chazen Museum of Art presents Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj, a selection of expertly decorated silverware produced by craftsmen from different regions of India during the Raj (British colonial rule between 1858 and 1947). The work, never before exhibited, is on view July 25 through October 4, 2009. Admission is free.
Delight in Design includes more than 150 pieces of silverware that reflect a remarkable array of tastes. Indian silversmiths created the work for European customers and catered to colonial tastes and demand. The forms, such as tea services, bowls, claret jugs, goblets, and beer mugs, were not historically used in Indian culture. Yet the design—a word used at the time to indicate pattern, figuration, and all manner of embellishment—displayed an innate Indian fondness for decoration. The ornate surfaces displayed native skills, motifs, and design.
The exhibition is organized to highlight the distinctive regional styles that emerged across India during British rule. Kutch silversmiths often created heavily embossed work that incorporated animal forms—a twisted snake for a handle, an elephant head as a spout. Madras artisans decorated their work with images of gods, or Swamis, carried in procession accompanied by music and dance; this ware is called Swami silver (god silver). Calcutta pieces are embellished with rural scenes, such as men and women carrying water, husking grain, or plowing fields against a backdrop of palm trees and village huts.
The finest examples of Raj silver appear to have been created between 1860 and 1920. Much of it was ordered by the British stationed in India from the catalogs of local firms like P. Orr & Sons, in Madras, or from workshop drawings like those from Oomersee Mawjee and Sons, in Kutch (some of these drawings are included in the exhibition). Inscriptions engraved on silverware indicate that such objects were gifts for christenings and weddings, trophies for winners of polo and other sporting events, and mementos presented upon retirement from service. Even larger quantities of silver were imported into Britain and Europe.
Reception
Friday, September 11
5:30 p.m. pre-reception lecture by exhibition curator Vidya Dehejia.
6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Free public exhibition reception with music by carnatic classical saxophonist Sumanth Swaminathan and Indian vocalist Vanitha Suresh.
Films
Saturday, September 12
7:30 p.m. The UW Cinematheque screens "Shatranj Ke Khiladi" ("The Chess Players"), 1977, directed by Satyajit Ray, 113 minutes, in Urdu with English subtitles. 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors at 7 p.m.
In 1856, British East India Company officials move to annex the wealthy kingdom of Awadh. Ignoring warnings of impending danger, the ruler and local landlords indulge their obsession with chess. The game becomes a political metaphor as the British maneuver to capture Awadh’s king.
For updates visit Cinematheque
Friday, September 18
7:30 p.m. The UW Cinematheque screens "Lagaan," 2001, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, 224 minutes, in Hindi with English subtitles. 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors at 7 p.m.
The people of a small village in colonial India (1893) hope that they will be excused from paying "lagaan," the crippling land tax imposed by the British. Their fate is tied to winning a game of cricket, a game they don’t know. For updates visit Cinematheque
Teacher Workshop
“The British in India: Art, Culture, and Society”
Workshop for Middle- and High-School Teachers September 10-13, 2009
Pyle Center, UW-Madison
The UW-Madison Center for South Asia will sponsor a workshop about British rule in India for middle- and high-school teachers. This workshop is presented in conjunction with the Chazen Museum of Art exhibition "Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj," on view through October 4, 2009.
For more information about the workshop and to register, please contact Rachel Weiss, Center for South Asia at(608) 262-9224 or email:
rweiss@southasia.wisc.edu.
Information can also be found through the
Center for South Asia Outreach web site.
The deadline to register for the workshop is August 25, 2009.
A fully illustrated exhibition catalogue will be available
for purchase in the Museum Shop.
Works from the collection of Paul F. Walter form the basis of Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj. The exhibition and tour are organized by the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University. Generous local support for this exhibition has been provided by the Chazen Museum of Art Council, Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts, Brittingham Fund, and Hilldale Fund.
The Chazen Museum of Art is open Tuesdays–Fridays 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission to galleries and educational events is free. The museum is located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is accessible to wheelchairs from the north entrance (nearest to Library Mall). An elevator is down the corridor to the right.
Parking is available at the City of Madison State Street Campus Ramp (entrances on Frances and Lake streets) and in the University Square parking ramp, entrance on Lake Street. Metered parking is available in the lower level of UW Lot 46, entrances on Lake and Frances streets. Evening and weekend parking is also available in UW Lot 83 under Fluno Center, entrance on Frances Street, and in UW Lot 7 under Grainger Hall, entrance on Brooks Street between University Avenue and Johnson Street.
The Chazen will provide sign language interpreters for associated programs by three-week advance request to Anne Lambert, Curator of Education, weekdays, (608) 263-4421 (voice).