Alexis Renard Parisexhibiting at :

—TAMBARAN GALLERY

5 East 82nd StreetNew York 10028

—10th - 19th March 2016

EPICS

in INDIAN and PERSIAN

ART

G

G

G

L

O

O

A

A

O

O

F

F

E

E

S

E

M

M

D

V Gra

ph

ic d

esig

n :

stér

éo b

uro

C a t a l o g u e a v a i l a b l e u p o n r e q u e s t

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

PRESSBOOK(((

(New(catalogue(and(exhibition(

GAME OF GODS - GAME OF LOVE

Epics in Indian and Persian Art ((!

during(ASIA(WEEK(NEW(YORK(From(10th(to(19th(March(2016(

(at(Tambaran(Gallery(5(East(82nd(Street(

New(York(New(York(10028(!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

In!today’s!world!the!modern!epics!surround!us:!all!the!recent!series,!movies!and!books!like!

Game(of( Throne,! Star(Wars! or! Lord( of( the( Rings! are! part! of! our! contemporary! occidental!

culture.!

!

This! selection! of! paintings! and! sculptures! is! for! me! the! opportunity! to! link! those!

contemporary! references! to!ancient!epics! from! the! Indian!and!Persian!world!and! to! show!

how!they!are!still!alive,! full!of!heroic! labors,!wild! fights!against!demons,!brave!heroes!and!

gods.! Their! reading! is! breath?taking! as! well! as! the! paintings! and! sculptures! produced! to!

illustrate!them.!

!

Most!of! the!pieces!of! this!new!exhibition!are! illustrations! from!famous! Indian!and!Persian!

epic!poems!including:!

!

An!important!set!of!five!Mahabharata!paintings!from!Kangra!from!the!painter!Purkhu!or!his!

followers,!!

!

Safavid! period! paintings! from! the! Persian! book! of! Kings! ?! Shahnameh,! including! a! 16th!century!Shiraz!page!depicting!the!fight!between!Esfandyar!and!the!dragon,!

!

A!rare!and!early!Indian!Chola!period!bronze!of!Sita!with!an!unusual!headdress,!charming!and!

powerful!depiction!of!the!beautiful!Sita!from!the!Ramayana,!!

As! well! as! a! powerful! and! extremely! fine! South! Indian! bronze! depicting! Shiva( Nataraja!dating!from!the!16th!century.!

!

The!many!books!from!the!Indian!tradition!such!as!the!Ramayana!and!the!Mahabharata!or!the! amazing! stories! from! the! Persian! world! are! pursuing! the! same! goal! as! the! modern!

stories!in!entertaining!us!as!well!as!bringing!examples!of!courage!and!wisdom.!!

Taking! us! away! from! our! everyday! concerns! the! ancient! epics! have! in! the! South! Asian!

tradition!a!strong!meaning!as!in!India!where!they!are!the!basis!of!religion!involving!many!of!

the!gods!and!being!among!the!oldest!epic!poetic!texts!known.!

!

It! is!also!quite! tempting! to!see!some!relation! in! the! iconography!of!modern!epics!and! the!

influence! of! ancient! iconography! of! South! Asia,! even! if! there! is! no! link! except! in! the!

Occidental!fascination!for!those!stories!and!characters!intriguing!to!the!non?Indian!eye.!!

The! visual! relation!with! an! image! like! the!asavari( ragini! page! depicting! the! female! figure!

seated!on!rocks!and!surrounded!by!snakes!is!for!example!recalling!the!episode!from!Game(of(Thrones!with!the!mother!of!dragons!surviving!from!the!ordeal!fire!with!her!dragons.!

!

This! exhibition! is! an!opportunity! to!bring!a!new!perspective!on! those! colorful! vibrant!and!

lively!stories.!I!hope!you!enjoy!this!epic!journey!as!much!as!I!do!when!looking!at!a!painting!or!

a!bronze!or!reading!one!of!those!stories.!

!

!

Alexis!Renard!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

Dhraupadi's!wedding!?!Scene!from!the!Mahabharata!Circle!of!Purkhu!

Pigments!and!gold!on!paper!

India,!1810!?!1820!!

Height!30!Width!42!cm!

!

!

!!

Esfandyar!fighting!the!dragon!–!Page!from!a!Shahnameh!Ink,!pigments!and!gold!on!paper!

Iran,!Qazvin!or!Shiraz,!circa!1560?1570,!Safavid!Period!

Height!Miniature:!17,5;!Page:!21;!Margins:!31!cm!

Width!Miniature:!17;!Page:!11;!Margins:!20!cm!

Provenance:!formerly!in!the!M.!F.!collection,!Joseph!Soustiel!Art!Musulman,!expertise!from!

Jean!Soustiel!/!Marie?Christine!David!dated!10/12/1997!

!

!

!

!

!!

Indian!sculpture!depicting!Sita!

Bronze!

South!India,!11th!century!

Height!42,8!cm!

Provenance:!Galerie!Marco!Polo,!1980's,!Collection!Pierre!Jourdan!Barry!

!

!!

Shiva!Lord!of!the!Dance!?!Shiva(Nataraja!Bronze!

India,!16th!century!!

Height!25,7!Width!18!Depth!9!cm!

!

!

!!

! !!

Asavari(ragini(Pigments!and!gold!on!paper!

India,!Murshidabad,!Late!18th!century,!Mughal!Period!

Height:!29!Width:!22,2!cm!

Provenance:!formerly!in!the!Kelekian!Collection!New!York,!Joseph!Soustiel!Paris.!The!back!of!the!old!frame!

bearing!a!label!"Art!Musulman!?!Joseph!Soustiel"!

!

!

Since! the! gallery! opening! in! 1999,! Alexis! Renard! has! been! building! bridges! between!

European!and!Oriental! culture,! linking! the! ancient! art! to! the!modern!world,! and! trying! to!

enlighten! antiques! from! a!modern! point! of! view,! showing! how!much! we! can! learn! from!

them,!design!wise!and!in!many!other!ways.!

!

!

!

!

!

Alexis!Renard!is!a!specialized!dealer!and!expert! in!the!field!of! Islamic!and!Indian!Art!and!is!

promoting!a!small!group!of!Pakistani!contemporary!artists.!

Established! since!1999! on! Saint?Louis! Island! in! the! heart! of! Paris,! the! gallery!offers!

valuations,! brokerage! operations! and! research! of! objects! for! museums! and! private!

collectors,!as!well!as!buying!and!selling.!

Works!of!arts!purchased!by!the!gallery!are!now!housed!in!major!museums!and!institutions!

worldwide:!Musée!du!Louvre,!Musée!du!Quai!Branly,!Musée!des!Beaux?Arts!de!Lyon,!Musée!

Ariana!Genève,! the!David!Collection,! the!Metropolitan!Museum!of!Art,! Institut!du!Monde!

Arabe,!Sadberk!Hanim!Müzesi…!

Alexis!Renard!is!an!Expert!Member!of!the!Chambre!Nationale!des!Experts!Spécialisés!(CNES)!

and!a!Member!of!the!Syndicat!National!des!Antiquaires!(SNA).!

!

!

!

!

CONTACT&

Galerie&Alexis&Renard&5&rue&des&deux&ponts&

75004&Paris&FRANCE&

Assistant:&Gabrielle&LESAGE&

+33&1&44&07&33&02&

+33&6&80&37&74&00&

alexis@alexisrenard.com&www.alexisrenard.com&