I had read that the economic crisis was impacting even the super rich and this article seems to be proof of that."Crafted in the 1860s as a gift for the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina, Saudi Arabia, the carpet was created under the auspices of Gaekwar Kande Rao, the maharajah of Baroda, a former kingdom in northwest India that is now part of Gujarat state. It took five years of labor by hundreds of craftsmen to make. Some 2 million seed pearls and colored glass beads and gems set in a gold foil background make up the swirling rosette design."Apparently, the rug was never bestowed on the tomb but ended up as divorce spoils when the Maharajah of Baroda separated from his second wife, the "Wallis Simpson" of India, in 1956.
I do hope some of the larger museums have some funds squirreled away so they can step in and buy up some of the quality art pieces that are now being liquidated by wealthy collectors.
Regarding jeweled rug post....
ReplyDeleteMuseums always have limited space to display items, and therefore most collections end up being squirreled away in warehouses, often not necessarily properly protected. (Canadian War Museum) A wealthy collector will rarely damage an item, and for one lifetime at least, the item will be appreciated. It is helpful to remember that most artwork was not made to be put into a museum at all, but was meant to be in the home of a private collector,a church, or very occasionally, to be displayed in a public place.
Except nowadays of course, when we have a phenomon where artists are actually making art for the purpose of soaking limited museum budgets. (Voice of Fire, Ottawa)