India’s crown jewels on show in London



Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani of Qatar is the owner of one of the most fabulous treasure troves of Mughal gems outside of the Indian continent.

The spine-tingling collection is on show at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in an exhibition titled Bejewelled Treasures: The Al Thani Collection.

The magnificence and wonder of the Indian court jewellery, dating from the 17th o the 20th centuries, is clear in this showcase of diamond-encrusted Indian turban jewels, brooches, ropes of emerald, spinel and Basra pearl necklaces, loose gemstones and exquisite objects used in royal ceremonies.

They are superb examples of the artistry and craftsmanship of the court artisans of the Mughal period.

Building a collection like this is an art in itself. Sheikh Hamad, who has had a long-standing interest in jewellery and art, was inspired to switch focus after he saw an exhibition of Indian jewellery at the V&A in 2009.

“At that point he had not started collecting Indian works of art,” says Dr Amin Jaffer, the international director of Asian art at Christie’s, who co-­curated that exhibition and advises Sheikh Hamad.

“But in touring the exhibition he was deeply inspired by the quality and originality of the courtly jewellery that was on display, and a few months later, Sheikh Hamad acquired his first piece of what has become a significant collection.”

The Mughal Empire stretched from Persia through Afghanistan into northern India and was consolidated by the Emperor Akbar in the late 16th century.

In 1616, Sir Thomas Roe, the British ambassador to the Mughal court described the later emperor, Jahangir, as “the treasury of the world”, so ­lavishly laden was he with shimmering pearls and sumptuous gemstones.

The Mughals were famed for their opulent court life and vast treasuries of gems, which were polished and set in gold using the Kundan technique, a style specific to Indian jewellery in which the gem is enclosed in soft 24-carat cups before being set into the ornament. This, together with enamelling, defines the Mughal style.

The V&A exhibition evokes the idea of a jewellery box, displaying alongside the ornaments of the Mughal court and glittering jewels of the 19th and 20th century maharajas a treasury of unmounted stones and explanations of these jewellery-making techniques.

This research, says Susan Stronge, the exhibition’s curator gave her a greater appreciation of the skills of the Indian jewellers and polishers.

Wearing jewellery is deeply rooted in Indian culture.

“Indian jewellery wasn’t just an art form or a decoration; it was part of everyday life,” says London dealer Susan Ollemans. “It is a great reflection of what was going on in Asia: the craftsmanship was spectacular and belonged to the bejewelled fantasy world of the court of the maharajas that no longer exists.”

Sheikh Hamad has amassed a wealth of ceremonial objects, including gem-encrusted daggers, swords and huqqas, but it is the opulent jewels that capture the imagination. Historically, men wore more jewellery than women, and used gems to demonstrate status and wealth. Women simply wore pieces as adornments.

The sarpech (an elaborate turban jewel with a feathered plume) in particular was only worn by the ruler, the emperor and, in later centuries when the empire broke up into princely states, by the maharajas.

The collection, explains Dr Jaffer, “is a deeply personal one and above all reflects Sheikh Hamad’s own taste and vision.”

Nevertheless, the sheikh is not the only one who has been assembling such a collection. London property magnate Nasser D Khalili owns a spectacular collection of Mughal jewels, as does Sheikh Nasser al-Sabah of Kuwait, who has been collecting for nearly 40 years.

“It is really the Middle East at the moment that has the taste, money and expertise to buy, and they have bought absolutely the best treasures of India,” says Susan Ollemans.

Samina Khayami, another London dealer who is closely associated with the Al Thani and Al-Sabah collections agrees.

“The Middle East and Gulf have some very discerning collectors and buyers,” she says. “They are very sophisticated in their taste, making them extremely passionate, informed collectors.”

It is a highly specialised area but David Warren, Christie’s senior international jewellery director, believes public interest was first awakened by the Al-Sabah collection, which has been exhibited around the world since 2002.

“This would have been, to many, a radically different and exciting form of jewellery that stirred the curiosity of many ­already-established collectors in other fields,” he says.

A similar, smaller exhibition of Sheikh Hamad’s collection was shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York last year and people are still talking about it, says Khayami.

“I think both of these important collectors are making a great contribution in bringing the jewelled arts of India out from private galleries and owners’ storage, into the open and public domain.”

Bejewelled Treasures: The Al Thani Collection, sponsored by Wartski, runs until March 28 at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Visit www.vam.ac.uk/bejewelledtreasures

artslife@thenational.ae

TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

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Results

Stage 7:

1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29

2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time

3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious

4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep

5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35

3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02

4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42

5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45

The Bio

Amal likes watching Japanese animation movies and Manga - her favourite is The Ancient Magus Bride

She is the eldest of 11 children, and has four brothers and six sisters.

Her dream is to meet with all of her friends online from around the world who supported her work throughout the years

Her favourite meal is pizza and stuffed vine leaves

She ams to improve her English and learn Japanese, which many animated programmes originate in

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bedu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khaled%20Al%20Huraimel%2C%20Matti%20Zinder%2C%20Amin%20Al%20Zarouni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%2C%20metaverse%2C%20Web3%20and%20blockchain%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Currently%20in%20pre-seed%20round%20to%20raise%20%245%20million%20to%20%247%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Privately%20funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Fixture and table

UAE finals day: Friday, April 13 at Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

  • 3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
  • 6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins

 

UAE Premiership – final standings

  1. Dubai Exiles
  2. Abu Dhabi Harlequins
  3. Jebel Ali Dragons
  4. Dubai Hurricanes
  5. Dubai Sports City Eagles
  6. Abu Dhabi Saracens
THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

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Engine: 6.2-litre V8

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Transmission: 10-speed automatic

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Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

The specs

Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder

Transmission: 7-speed auto

0-100kmh 2.3 seconds

0-200kmh 5.5 seconds

0-300kmh 11.6 seconds

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Released: 2017

Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon

Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube

Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification

Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.

Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards

What is dialysis?

Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.

It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.

There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.

In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.

In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.

It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.