June 23, 2006 - July 17, 2010
Tale of the Tile: The Ceramic Traditions of Pakistan
The longest running exhibition to date at the Mohatta Palace Museum brought to life Pakistan’s ceramic traditions. The displays, spread over seven galleries on the ground floor traced, chronologically and geographically, the making and traditions of tiles through history right up to the work of contemporary ceramicists.
The decoration of tiles has been a distinctive expression of the architectural heritage of Islam. When these traditions came to the subcontinent, they fused with preexisting artistic traditions to create new hybrid forms. This exhibition sought to showcase these historical linkages and highlight cultural affinities with Mongol, Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal influences thereby creating a renaissance in architectural adornment.
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The exhibition displayed pottery from Mehrgarh, an important site of the Indus valley civilization, where numerous works of pottery were found and are amongst the oldest in the world. The works brought from the Quetta Museum highlighted important links between the Persianate world and South Central Asia. The exhibition moved to important cultural centers in Sindh such as Sehwan Sharif, Kamarro Sharif, Hala, Thatta and Nasarpur, where pottery traditions have existed contemporaneous with the Indus valley civilization. Moving towards funerary monuments in Multan, it showcased the classic blue and white pottery tradition of the region on mausolea and mosques in Uchh and Multan. There were compelling floor to ceiling recreations from Kamarro Sharif, Bibi Jawindi’s mausoleum and the Shah Rukn-e-Alam mausoleum in Multan. The displays ended geographically with Lahore, site of magnificent Mughal monuments such as the archetypal Wazir Khan Mosque.
The exhibition concluded by bringing contemporary practitioners into dialogue with their history through the work of present day ceramicists such as Sheherezade Alam, Sadia Salim and Riffat Alvi. The display paid special attention to Mian Salahuddin, Pakistan’s pioneer studio ceramist, who not only created an interplay of form, colour and texture but was an influential educator.
