Inlaid – Court and Craft Exhibition – Courtauld Gallery

Go see the tiny but perfectly formed exhibition at The Courtauld Gallery: Court & Craft, A Masterpiece from Northern Iraq.

It’s all about a handbag. This is one bag of mystery – a brass beauty inlaid with gold and silver, made in Mosul around 1300 to 1330, possibly for a descendant of Chinggis (Ghenghis) Khan. It is an exceptional piece of work, sumptuous, sophisticated and also deeply mysterious.

re1a.-Courtauld-Court-and-Craft-Islamic-bag

Who did it belong to and why? The Courtauld curators have pieced together a compelling display looking at various plausible options and exhibited an array of beautiful objects and manuscripts to support their theories.

Photography © The Courtauld Gallery

The exhibition runs in Central London until the 18th May 2014 at The Courtauld Gallery. Your entrance ticket will also give you access to the rest of their galleries, well worth a visit with an art collection which ranges from the Renaissance to the 20th Century.