Cornucopia Magazine Arts Diary

Good to be back at the Istanbul Art and Antique Fair. It's a quieter edition than usual. Timing is not ideal – half-term has seen a minor exodus of the fair's usual clients – but there are a few gems for the eagle-eyed. And intriguing questionmarks. Who is P Giraud,...

Posted in Fine Art

A profusion of colour: rich pickings from London’s Spring Islamic Sales

By Cornucopia Connoisseur | March 26, 2022

Spring has arrived early in London this year, and with it Pietro Longhi’s sumptuous Procession of the Venetian Bailo Francesco Gritti in Constantinople, painted in Venice in 1731. It is one of the highlights of this week’s Islamic Sales, Lot 76, in Sotheby’s Art of the Islamic World & India including...

Posted in Fine Art, Islamic Art, Textiles

Ultimate cool: Mughal emerald-tinted specs and the real Roxelana

London Islamic Sales Week October 2021

By Cornucopia Connoisseur | October 25, 2021

This week is Islamic Sales Week in London, with wonderful curiosities being auctioned at Sotheby’s, Bonhams and Christie’s. Lots 213 and 214 in the Sotheby’s Arts of the Islamic World & India on October 27 were created for a truly enchanted world. It was an age when two Turkish-speaking dynasties, the Ottomans...

Posted in Fine Art

The wit to woo

The Istanbul Art and Antiques Fair is back, and a good thing too

By Cornucopia Connoisseur | February 22, 2020

Back in the naughty 90s, the Istanbul antiques fair was a highlight of the Istanbul arts calendar. Çigdem Simavi's Küsav foundation served up a brilliant blend of high art and high society, most memorably in the Armoury of Yıldız Palace. It was a mix of the flash and the famous,...

Posted in Contemporary Art, Fine Art

‘The Gentleman of Istanbul’ and other sly tales

Turhan Selçuk smiles satirically, almost vaguely, and you find yourself joining him – Yaşar Kemal

By Luke Frostick | July 12, 2019

And that, as the great novelist said, is what great art is about. Minimalism is the key to Turhan Selçuk’s art – his drawings all bold black lines and harsh angles. However, as is so often the case with the best artists, simplicity can be deceptive. His torpedo passing through...

Posted in Exhibitions, Fine Art, Literature

Howard Hodgkin: a grand gesture

Portrait of an Artist, the Howard Hodgkin sale at Sotheby’s, October 24, 2017

By Thomas Roueché | October 15, 2017

That Howard Hodgkin (1932–2017) was an important collector of Indian Art is well known – not least from the frequent displays of his work internationally (two might be Visions of Mughal India: The Collection of Howard Hodgkin, at the Ashmolean, Oxford; and Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700, Opulence and Fantasy,...

Posted in Fine Art, Islamic Art

Gifts from the Shah

‘Shah Abbas’ Gifts to the Serenissima’ exhibition

By Cornucopia UK | March 19, 2014

A fascinating exhibition on display at the Chamber of the Scrutinio in the Doge’s Palace in Venice traces the history of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Venice and the Safavid Persia under the rule of Shah Abbas the Great (1587–1629). The show specifically highlights the gifts exchanged between the two powers...

Posted in Contemporary Art, Exhibitions, Fine Art, History, Islamic Art

Assyrians at Aya Irini

By Cornucopia TR | February 14, 2011

How do you feel about archaeology? Not terribly excited at the prospect of clay shards, stone tools and impenetrable display captions? Well, think again. In an attempt to get people interested in what's buried beneath our feet, nearly five hundred exquisite pieces recovered from the ancient city of Kanesh (modern-day...

Posted in Fine Art

“Colours of the Orient, Arts and Lifestyles in the Ottoman Empire” at the Villa Empain, Brussels

By Cornucopia TR | January 18, 2011

If you happen to be in Brussels between now and 27 February, make sure to pay a visit to the Villa Empain, an Art Deco mansion which houses the headquarters of the Boghossian Foundation. Dedicated to promoting dialogue between East and West, the Foundation is currently presenting an exhibition concerned...

Posted in Fine Art, Islamic Art

Orientalism in Europe: from Delacroix to Kandinsky

By Cornucopia TR | January 10, 2011

(Eugène Delacroix, The Death of Sardanapalus, 1844) As you may have already gleaned from one of the Arts Diary's earlier articles, from 28 January until 1 May Munich's Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung will be hosting an extraordinary selection of nineteenth and early-twentieth century Orientalist art. Beginning with Napoleon's invasion of Egypt...

Posted in Fine Art

“Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from the Gelman Collection” at the Pera Museum

By Cornucopia TR | January 5, 2011

Until 20 March, the Pera Museum will be hosting the first ever exhibition in Turkey of works by those titans of modern Mexican art, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. With more than forty pieces selected from the Gelman Collection, this is a major show which avoids focusing overly on Frida...

Posted in Fine Art

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The fun of the fair

By Cornucopia Connoisseur | November 19, 2022

A profusion of colour: rich pickings from London’s Spring Islamic Sales

By Cornucopia Connoisseur | March 26, 2022