Gifts of the Sultan: the Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts, June 5-Sept 5

THE ART NEWSPAPER

Shah Jahan receives the Persian Ambassador,
Folio from the Windsor Padshahnama, 1633

CALIFORNIA - Gift exchange in the Islamic courts, including the why and how of what was given, is the focus for “Gift of the Sultan”, a show of more than 250 objects of Islamic art, on loan from collections in the US, Europe and Middle East at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma).

“I was interested in using a universal theme to introduce a broader audience to Islamic art, because it’s not familiar to many Americans,” said Linda Komaroff, Lacma’s head of the department of art of the Middle East. “Even hearing the word ‘gift’ makes the pulse quicken,” she said. “Some of the gifts are very appealing, such as an enormous pair of bracelets that are more than half a pound of gold each.” A gift shop replica is ­unlikely. The practice of giving has long been studied by anthropologists, said Komaroff, citing the work of Marcel Mauss, whose theory was that gifts were exchanged to create a sense of social obligation. [link]