New Delhi, December 2024: Ojas Art announced the upcoming exhibition, The Princely Cabinet. Running from December 6 to January 12, 2025 this unique exhibition presents museum-worthy objects across genres and collectibles like textiles, sculptures, paintings, maps and objects.
Historically, Cabinets of curiosities were encyclopedic collections of objects whose categorical boundaries were, in Renaissance Europe, yet to be defined and emerged in the sixteenth century. The term cabinet originally described a room rather than a piece of furniture.
In addition to the most famous and best documented cabinets of rulers and aristocrats, members of the merchant class and early practitioners of science in Europe formed collections that were precursors to museums.
Cabinets of curiosities served not only as collections to reflect the particular interests of their curators but also as social devices to establish and uphold rank in society. There are said to be two main types of cabinets. As R. J. W. Evans notes, there could be “the princely cabinet, serving a largely representational function, and dominated by aesthetic concerns and a marked predilection for the exotic,” or the less grandiose, “the more modest collection of the humanist scholar or virtuoso, which served more practical and scientific purposes.”
Ojas Art’s The Princely Cabinet is a collection of museum-worthy objects. In textiles, there are traditional embroideries (Phulkaris from the Punjab), a German lace pichwai depicting Krishna and the gopis made in the early 20th century.
Paintings and visual arts by masters like Balu Lal Joshi, Jivya Soma Mashe, Jaidev Bahgel, Madan Mahatta, Sohan Qadri and Krishna Reddy.
A rare selection of totem poles, furniture and tribe’s chief chairs from Konyak and Wancho tribes are a focal point of the exhibition. A selection of maps and miniatures, without which no cabinet is complete!
Tucked away in a corner is the ultimate cabinet boasting of the ultimate jewelry objects like an emerald perfume bottle weighing more than 100 carats, a pill box made of the most exquisite meenakari work, idols of gods and goddesses in ruby and emeralds.
“In Putting together The Princely Cabinet, I went through the various objects that I have collected over the decades. This is a one-of-a-kind exhibition where there are unique objects for collectors and connsoieurs and will help recognise the gallery’s role in collection building.. Through the exhibition we hope to have varied outreach activities to build on new audiences,” said Anubhav Nath, Director of Ojas Art.
- On view: 6 December 2024 to 12 January 2025. 11am to 7pm. The gallery is closed on Monday
- Where: Ojas Art, 1AQ, Near Qutab Minar, Mehrauli, New Delhi, Delhi 110030
