Making the Connection: from Maharaja to Manjusha

Bay Area jewelry designer Jyotsna Singh is the granddaughter of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, whose extraordinary Cartier necklace is one of the stand-out pieces in our exhibition, Maharaja: The Splendor of India’s Royal Courts. We’re thrilled to be able to cement the family connection by offering some of Jyotsna’s Manjusha jewelry line in our store.

Manjusha, which means a treasure chest of jewels, presents collections of unique fusion jewelry that combine the majesty of the old with the intensity of the new.  Inspired by the beauty of royal Jadau designs, Jyotsna’s jewelry is reminiscent of a bygone era of royal palaces and princely extravagance.

Here, Jyotsna talks about her special relationship with jewelry and the experience of seeing her grandfather’s necklace for the first time.

Top Five Last-minute Holiday Gift Ideas

It’s no secret that this time of year brings stress as well as celebration. Well, forget crowded stores and generic gift offerings: Here are five unique gifts that you can pick up on your next visit to the museum.

1. Give the gift of membership, from $75 ($40 students, $55 seniors). Share your love of art with those you love. If you’ve ever been moved by art, you know this is truly a gift that keeps on giving. Available at the museum or online.

2. Tied Rocks by Shizu Okino, $25 – $70. The Bay Area artist adapts traditional basket-making techniques into handheld art objects.

3. South Asian ornaments, $3.95 – $25.  Traditional folk craft in fabric, wood, and papier-mâché – perfect for the holidays, or any time. Who wouldn’t want one?

4. VIP admission tickets. These special gift tickets give the recipient access to the Maharaja exhibition as well as the museum’s collection galleries. Available only in the museum; $17 each, or $15 each if you purchase 10 or more – make it a family outing!

5. Hidden Meanings is back in print!  Terese Tse Bartholomew’s masterpiece on symbolism in Chinese art is now available, $45 softcover, $65 hardcover. Shipping is available to any US destination.

Language of Cloth: Behind the Scenes

When someone mentions Bali and Java, what do you see?  Some speak of impossibly verdant jungle broken by blue expanses of sea and sky, sharp-toothed deities in wood and stone, dancers dripping with gold ornament, the press of tourists.

Perhaps because I have never visited Indonesia, I tend to think of its art and craft, the dislocated souvenirs of Paradise.  Like the pieces on view in the galleries, they’re my link to places I may never visit, and so become microcosms of a word-of-mouth world.  But there’s one thing I don’t need imagination for, and that’s batik.

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Tag: Nicole Harvey

“Tag, you’re it.” One staffer asks another AAM staff, artist, or guest a handful of questions. The interviewed subject then comes up with his / her own set of questions, and chooses whom next to interview. Just like a hearty game of tag.

To inaugurate this new series, we have Nicole Harvey –  Museum Store Associate at the Asian Art Museum.

Nicole Harvey

What book would you recommend to somebody?

This reminds me of a librarian in a novel who refuses to read anything in his library because he doesn’t want to become unduly attached to a single book, as attachment clouds judgment. I have no such problems and will play favorites whenever possible—but I have a lot of favorites.

Offhandedly, I love The History of Writing because it’s one of those fantastic over-arching tomes, beginning with cuneiform and oracle bones and ending with the internet. It’s an omnibus, excellent for those with a short attention span: just open anywhere and you’ll learn something.

But it would be lousy bus-reading, so I’d suggest something like Christopher Robbins’ Apples Are from Kazakhstan, because I’ll read anything on Central Asia, or one of the small, well-designed titles from Chin Music Press. Sorry, that’s not one book, is it? I could go on, but apparently you have other questions.

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