Asian Art and History

Lecture

Asian Art and History From Hyderabad to Houston:
The Nizam’s Sarpech

Bradley Bailey, Ph.D., Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Curator of Asian Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Made from dozens of flat-cut Golconda diamonds, the Houston sarpech represents one of the finest examples of jewelry from the court of Hyderabad in an American public collection. Besides its stunning jewels, gold and enamels, the sarpech also represented prosperity, power and kingship, making it a powerful symbol when worn. This lecture explores how this stunning masterpiece was made, used and, finally, exported to the U.S., where it was acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

This presentation is part of the Asian Art and History series.

Image: Tombstone for Sarpech, Indian, Deccan. Sarpech (Turban Ornament), early 18th century. Gold, silver, diamonds, and enamel. 5 3/8 × 9 × 1/2 inches. Museum purchase funded by the Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. Accessions Endowment Fund, 2021.44. Photo credit: Photography © The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Bradley Bailey

Bradley Bailey

Bradley Bailey has served as the inaugural Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Curator of Asian Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston since 2017. He earned his B.A., M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees in art history, as well as his M.B.A., with emphasis on nonprofit management and museums, from Yale University. In addition to Meiji Modern, his current projects include an exhibition of Zen paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection (co-curated with Professor Yukio Lippit, Harvard University) that will open at the Japan Society in New York March 8-June 16, 2024, and is accompanied by a free online e-catalogue, complete with entries and essays by Bailey and Lippit, and published by the MFAH.