#amin jaffer

This beautiful volume East Meets West: Jewels of the Maharajas from the Al Thani Collection by Martin Chapman and Amin Jaffer traces the different ways in which gemstones and fine metals were used by the rulers of India and how some European jewelers borrowed some of the styles of the East and how some of the rulers used European jewelers as well. You see at top large, red spinels strong with pearls dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. The stones are actually inscribed with the name of Emperor Akbar. Then you see a Cartier necklace from the 1930s which had an Indian designer and clearly owes something to both East and West. Next, a turban ornament--yes, there are such things--created in the 19th century and made of spinels, gold, diamonds, and pearls. Then another East-West collaboration of a turban ornament of western styling first created in 1907 and then modified in the 1930s.

The exhibition was held at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, so if you missed it, you can enjoy the book which describes the history of the gems, their original uses, and how styles and techniques blended European and Indian culture.

History & Now: Dr Amin Jaffer on the Pavilion of India at the 61st La Biennale di Venezia

Amin Jaffer’s relationship with art began at six years old, when he walked through the Louvre with a camera. He photographed the Raft of the Medusa, the Coronation of Napoleon, the Winged Victory, and the black basalt Egyptian sculptures, to which he returned more than once. Whatever it was that drew him to those particular works, it appears never to have loosened its hold. Born in Rwanda to an Indian business family, Jaffer spent a decade at the Victoria & Albert Museum and another as International Director of Asian Art at Christie’s, before becoming Director of the Al Thani Collection and overseeing the creation of its critically acclaimed museum at the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris in 2021. Now, as curator of the Pavilion of India at the 61st La Biennale di Venezia 2026, he arrives at the world’s foremost international exhibition with rare scholarly depth and a sensibility that preceded it all.

Interview with Dr Amin Jaffer in the April-May issue for Harper's Bazaar India.