Jewelry from the Roof of the World

On now at the Fondation Baur in Geneva is Jewelry from the Roof of the World, an exhibition devoted to ornaments from Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, Northern India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia. Sourced entirely from the collection of Colette and Jean-Pierre Ghysels, these astonishing works reveal peoples, civilisations, and cultures whose memory is gradually fading. They convey also the passion and perseverance which took the Ghysels to every continent of the planet in their search for exquisite jewelry, always guided by two basic criteria: quality and beauty. Seduced by the richness of the ancestral traditions of Asia, they have unceasingly assembled these witnesses of vanishing worlds.

Visit the exhibition's official website.

Information and images courtesy of the Fondation Baur

Indian and South East Asian Art Sale Announced at Sotheby's

Sotheby's upcoming Indian and Southeast Asian sale presents a well-curated selection of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian works of art, Indian miniature paintings and modern and contemporary art from the subcontinent, with a focus on property culled from important private collections.

The Works of Art section of the sale features Buddhist art of pan-Asian origin from the Francisco Capelo collection, which was originally intended to be housed in a museum. Also on offer are a group of fine and rare Southeast Asian bronze sculptures from a private collection. Amongst the paintings in the sale is a selection of Indian miniatures with a provenance going back to the 19th century, reputedly originally collected by Warren Hastings, the first Governor General of India. Finally, highlighting the modern and contemporary section is a group of early modern Indian paintings from the collection of Emmanuel Schlesinger; friend and mentor to the Progressive Artists Group and one of the earliest collectors of Modern Indian Art.

MF Husain, Untitled painting showing a woman riding a leaping horse (est. $80/120,000)

THe auction will take place on March 24, 2010. There will be 184 lots on sale that are estimated to fetch $5/7.3 million; the auction will be on exhibition at Sotheby’s from this Friday, March 29.