FROM 9 SEPTEMBER THE DOGE’S PALACE WILL GLISTEN WITH PRECIOUS GEMS!

India, as the Fondazione Musei Civici writes and as told by the history books, was a land rich in precious gems: sapphires, diamonds and rubies enchanted visitors and merchants from the Moghul Empire in the sixteenth century. In this period the art of crafting jewels was developed, creating extraordinary splendours whose rare beauty is still striking. After the decline of the Moghul Empire in the eighteenth century, under the British Raj it was the maharajahs who gave continuity to that fabulous tradition shaping new artefacts of highly original shapes that showed the consequences of Indian art and of Western culture. These stupendous jewels, one of which is The Idol’s Eye (photo), the biggest blue diamond in the world that was thought to have been the eye of a sacred idol (hence the name) in an Indian temple, will be on display in the Sala dello Scrutinio in the Doge’s Palace from 9 September 2017 to 7 January 2018. These jewels are part of the collection of His Royal Highness Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, from the royal family of Qatar, at the centre of heavy international controversy in this period. The exhibition is curated by Amin Jeffer and Giancarlo Calza under the scientific direction of Gabriella Belli.    

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