Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September 1998, pages 103-105

Northeast News

Harvard’s Sackler Museum Scores Royal Triumph With Islamic Art

By David P. Johnson Jr

When political leaders today want to record the highlights of their administrations, or those of their predecessors, they might write a book or collaborate on a documentary film. The process might take a few months or a couple of years.

But when the Islamic kings who governed Central Asia several hundred years ago wanted to proclaim their glory for posterity, they were limited to more time-consuming tools: the pen and the paint brush. The paintings and illustrated manuscripts that were created under their patronage rival any documentary produced—revealing imperial achievements and portraying legends with intricate detail, elaborate calligraphy and stunning color.

Harvard University’s Arthur M. Sackler Museum has highlighted Islamic art with a spectacular exhibit through Aug. 9 entitled “Princes, Poets and Paladins: Islamic and Indian Paintings from the Collection of Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan.” It is a superb display of 145 first-rate art works from Turkey, Iran and India from the 14th to the 20th centuries.

The title refers to the rulers, scholars and valiant warriors (paladins), which are so lavishly depicted in the exhibit.

“We were really very thrilled when we were approached [about hosting the exhibit],” said Rochelle Kessler, assistant curator of Islamic and later Indian art. She explained that the collection assembled by the Prince, brother of the Aga Khan, leader of the world’s 15 million Ismaili Muslims, is one of the most important in private hands in the world. It was to have been shown at the Reitberg Museum in Zurich, but complications prevented its exhibition there until fall. After that, the treasures will return to their permanent home in Geneva.

Kessler, who arrived at the Sackler last year from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, said that it usually takes years to mount an exhibit of this scale, but that with the sudden notice, they had less than a year. The exhibit also marks the first major show by the Sackler’s new associate curator, Mary McWilliams, who was previously with the Cleveland Museum.

Highlights of the exhibit are six pages from the Shahnama, or kingly book, created for the celebrated Safavid ruler Shah Tamasp (1524 to 1576). The pages chronicle the feats of the dynasty, including what is considered one of the best examples of its kind, an opaque water color on paper depicting “The Court of Gayumars.” The subtle use of color and the amazing detail (animals are nestled in rocks and even the tiniest faces display animated expressions) make the work a masterpiece, according to Kessler.

“This is our crown jewel,” she said. “It’s fantastic, absolutely fantastic.” She pointed out the various styles which fused to create the Safavid style, including the craggy rocks, lone gnarled tree and stylized blue clouds, typical of Chinese painting. As first king of the world, Gayumar is displayed seated in the center of the painting, looking down at his diverse courtiers and the varied animals, all gathered in peace. “Its wonderful detail replicates the elegance of the Safavid Court,” Kessler explained.

Such a drawing might have taken a contingent of artists years to produce. Kessler said the master artist would draw a sketch to function as a blueprint. Calligraphy, considered the highest Islamic art, would be drawn in first, followed by preliminary painting by apprentices and junior artists who would block out and color some of the figures. Then the master artists would complete the job, adding facial details and finishing off the work. Details might involve a panoply of symbols and creatures, each with its own cultural and historical message. These might include placing dragons (Persian symbols of bad luck) in clouds, demons or creatures in rocks, and polishing landscapes, tiny flowers or streams of silver. Kessler pointed out dark areas where the silver paint had tarnished to black.

The work of Sultan Muhammad, the master artist of “The Court of Gayumars,” was considered so exquisite that other artists hung their heads in shame, according to Kessler. She added that the books were meant to be held in the reader’s lap. “This was a very intimate sort of thing to be viewed by the patron.”

The various schools of Islamic art cross-pollinated each other, Kessler said. The Safavids drew upon the Mongols, who began to conquer Iran in 1220, as well as their descendants, the Timurids, and the Turkmans, who moved east from Anatolia. The Safavids also picked up influences from the Chinese, the Uzbeks and from other peoples in the area. The Shahnama represents a fusion of the Timurid and Turkman styles, Kessler said.

The Ottoman Turks had extensive contacts with Arabs and Europeans, and later the Mughals discovered Hindu—especially Rajput—styles. Kessler also said that artists and calligraphers moved between various courts. Often a ruler would lose interest in maintaining a large artistic operation, or a highly devout Muslim ruler might frown on art. In that case, the artists would seek employment elsewhere, bringing new styles to a different court.

Kessler also said that art would be taken as booty during war, bringing people in contact with new styles, but also making it harder to trace the works, since rulers would take apart manuscripts or chop up paintings for remounting.

Styles also came and went. Safavid painting shows stylized, formal portraits in some periods, and more natural, life-like expressions in others. The interaction between artist and patron also affected styles. Some rulers would have strong, individualized tastes that would create a certain look. Other leaders did not get so involved, letting the work proceed without as much direction.

One early Safavid painter, Bihzad (1450 to 1535), was known for his natural portraits and animals. “His work was the standard,” Kessler said, indicating “The Portrait of Hatifi,” showing a bearded poet against an azure background.

Although there was not a lot of Ottoman art in the exhibit, the work that was included was first-rate. A portrait of Sultan Selim II, who ruled the Turkish Empire from 1566 to 1574, at the peak of its power, is worth the admission by itself. Looking like an Oriental Henry VIII, the corpulent Selim, a noted drinker, is depicted sipping a beverage, his cheeks flushed and his expression pensive.

One of the many playful elements in Islamic art is present in this portrait. With a smile, Kessler pointed out two tiny circles filled with writing at the top of the page. “That is the invocation against bookworms. It says, ‘King of the Cockroaches,’ or ‘King of the Bugs.’ It was popular in India. Any insect eating the page would come across the warning that the book is protected by the King of the Bugs.”

The exhibit contained several works from the Rajput school of northern India. These paintings were distinguished by the illustrations of Krishna and other Hindu deities and their bold, flat use of color with no modulation. “It was not because they didn’t have the ability,” Kessler stated. “It was a matter of tradition, of preference.” One particularly bright shade of Rajput yellow was created by feeding cows mango leaves, which turned their urine into the vivid shade.

The Mughals, Islamic leaders who moved east from Iran, developed a distinctive style, favoring subtle colors and shadings. Some of their work also projects tremendous energy.

“In the Mughal period you have a synthesis of Persian and indigenous Rajput, local techniques and an overlay of European influences. It forms a unique synthesis,” Kessler said.

The Mughal arts may have reached a peak under Akbar, who encouraged painting and also philosophy. A Muslim himself, he would invite Hindu, Muslim, Jain and Christian holy men to discuss philosophical questions he would pose.

The exhibit also contains work by Mansur, one of the leading painters of late Mughal style, as well as a number of works from southern India. In addition, there are several interesting paintings from the Company School, which were commissioned by the British East India Company in the 19th century and show a blend of European style and Indian subject matter.

Several items, including a fabulous Safavid hunting carpet from the Sackler’s permanent collection, also are displayed to highlight or complement various works in the prince’s exhibit. The Sackler is located at 485 Broadway, Cambridge, MA, near Harvard Square. It is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $5, senior citizens $4. Call (617) 496-8576 for information.

Boston Group Says “Hats Off to a Free Jerusalem!”

The turban was so tiny that only a child could have made it, those small fingers emphatically twisting the multi-colored silk into a circle. Although it looked as if it was made to complete a doll, the tiny turban actually had a larger job—indicating one of the many cultures of Jerusalem. The turban is part of what must be one of the most unusual and creative exhibits on the Middle East: the William Yale Collection of 55 miniature hats representing the many cultures of Jerusalem.

And what hats they are! Each one displays intricate stitching and miniature features that appear to copy faithfully the full-sized originals. Every one of Jerusalem’s varied cultures is included: a paisley and red turban of a Druze, a peaked black hat of an Armenian priest, a Turk’s red Fez, a purple-tasseled hat from Bethlehem, the somber black hat of an Orthodox Polish Jew, a conical yellow, red and green headpiece worn by a protector of the mosque. There also are hats representing Assyrians, Coptic Christians, Qur’anic students and Sephardic Jews. The hats vary from plain to wild-colored, and may be exotic, comfortable, or just plain fun!

“In other words, the whole area is represented. It’s quite a collection,” said Martha-Jane Ekstrand of New Hampshire, who accidently bought the collection at auction several years ago, thus saving it from possible destruction.

Several Boston organizations are exhibiting the hats this summer as an effort to celebrate Jerusalem’s diverse past in the wake of Israeli efforts to homogenize the city and erase thousands of years of history.

One program, held July 11 at the historic William Clapp House in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood where the hats are on display, was sponsored by the American Arabic Association, the “Arabic Hour” TV program, the William G. Abdulah Library in West Roxbury and the Dorchester Historical Society.

Longtime Arab-American activist Evelyn A. Menconi, who helped organize the event, said its purpose was “to promote peace and understanding in the Middle East. We’re focusing on the wonderful diversity of Jerusalem that these hats show. Jerusalem is a crossroads of culture,” she said.

Ekstrand told the audience of some 30 people that the hats have a long, romantic history, full of mystery and surprise. She said the story began in the 1870s, when a young refugee from the Franco-Prussian War, known only as Miss Baldensperger, arrived in Palestine, where her parents ran a Protestant mission school for orphans.

Walking about Jerusalem, Miss Baldensperger marvelled at the exotic sights, including the spectacular and varied hats. The young woman soon put her young pupils to work on a new project, making tiny hats that copied those they saw around them. For the base of the hats, the students used lemon and lime peels, baked hard in the sun.

“The hats were designed around them,” Ekstrand explained. “No one but children could have made them because they were so tiny.”

Under Miss Baldensperger’s competent direction, the students stitched, hemmed and sewed, often with painstaking detail, to create the collection.

In 1913, a young American, William Yale, a descendent of Elihu Yale, the founder of Yale University, arrived in Istanbul to explore for oil for the Standard Oil Company of New York.

Ekstrand explained that one day while wandering in Jerusalem, Yale happened to see a lovely young woman from Cleveland, Edith Hanna, who was visiting the city with her mother and sister. The pair fell in love, and made plans to meet again soon. But World War I intervened and the State Department sent Yale to the Middle East, where he often traveled in disguise as an Arab or Turk, much like his friend Lawrence of Arabia.

While in the Middle East Yale met Miss Baldensperger, then in her 60s. He was enchanted with her hat collection and bought it as a wedding present for Edith Hanna, even though he had not yet proposed.

Finally the couple were reunited and married several years after the war. The hats became a cherished momento of the city where they had first met. However, during one of the many moves made by the Yales, they lost track of the collection.

It turned up several years later in a trunk which had been stored in a friend’s attic. Since Yale spent the later years of his life as a professor at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, for 45 years the hats were on display at the Yales’ Chester, New Hampshire, home.

Ekstrand said that when the couple was forced to sell their house in the 1970s, she and some other Middle Eastern enthusiasts went to the auction of the Yales’ property. She said it was heartbreaking to see buyers picking through the belongings, including fabulous Oriental rugs, spread all over the lawn.

As the auction progressed, and antique dealers snapped up most articles, Ekstrand said she noticed a box to one side with a jumble of things. She bought the box and its contents, which looked interesting and seemed a good buy at $22.50, although “I wasn’t sure what they were.”

When she got home, Ekstrand realized she had bought a hat collection, which included a complete list and description of all the contents. She donated the collection to the American Arabic Association, which in turn gave it to the museum at the University of New Hampshire, now its permanent home.

Following the presentation on the hats, Yvonne Homsy, food editor for the “Arabic Hour,” discussed food from the Jerusalem area, citing references from the Bible and the Qur’an and describing how those foods are used today.

These included lentil soup, for which Esau sold his birthright; lamb, barley, pigeons and various spices. “My father, like many immigrants from the Middle East, planted mint everywhere we lived,” Homsy recalled.

Nor was that all. “When we lived in Quincy [Mass.], our neighbors weren’t thrilled that we kept pigeons,” she recalled with a laugh.

Popular Arab American poet Lisa Majaj then read several poems on the city, including her own, entitled “Jerusalem.”

“Arabic Hour” political commentator and program host Dr. Elaine Hagopian then discussed the current situation in Jerusalem, noting Israeli attempts to ignore evidence that anyone other than Jews ever lived there.

“Now there is an emphasis on Old Testament archeology,” she explained. “Older finds are dismissed. Archeology almost stops when you get to the seventh century ad [after the birth of Islam]. The Muslim side is put aside quite often.”

Describing how Christians are being driven out of the city, Hagopian said, “There are very few Christians left in Jerusalem.” Copies of the article “Jerusalem 3,000 is Less Than Half the Story,” by John Worrell, which appeared in the Feb./March issue of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, were distributed to further illustrate the situation.

Menconi also paid tribute to the late Father Joseph Ryan, a native of Dorchester who served on the Pontifical Mission to the Middle East from 1984 to 1990, and who earlier taught at Al Hikmah University in Baghdad and St. Joseph University in Beirut. In the United States Father Ryan frequently lectured on the region and sought to promote ecumenical dialogue.

Retired Boston University Professor Frank Maria also was present. He announced that the Yale-Maria Lecture in Middle Studies will be held at the University of New Hampshire in Durham on Nov. 4. Those interested can call (603) 456-3454 for further information.

To see the hats through the summer, call the Dorchester Historical Society, (617) 265- 3303 or 436-7015.