August 7, 2004 through January 2, 2005
Arthur M. Sackler Museum (More about the Arthur M. Sackler Museum)

Aqa Riza, Youth Dressed as a Dervish, folio from an album, c. 1630. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, 32.3 x 20.4 cm. Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art. Photo: Katya Kallsen, HUAM. Copyright President and Fellows of Harvard College.

With the words "closely focused, intensely felt," Norma Jean Calderwood sought to convey to her students the character and appeal of Persian art. The same phrase describes equally well the personal qualities that for more than 30 years directed her to study, teach, and acquire works in that field.

Generously given to the Harvard University Art Museums in 2002, the Calderwood Collection spans a thousand years of Persian art, ranging from the powerful epigraphic ceramics of the Samanid era to the somber introspection of mid-19th-century Qajar portraiture. While displaying less than one-fifth of the collection, the exhibition offers examples of Iran's most celebrated achievements in the arts, such as the brilliant luster and mina'i ceramics of the 12th and 13th centuries and the highly refined court painting of the 16th and 17th centuries. Included as well are objects that reflect the collector's more individual pursuits, such as her fascination with manuscript painting from Shiraz during the 14th through the 16th century.

Online Exhibition