Khalili Collection of Spanish Metalwork

Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Spanish Metalwork
Bronze gilt and enamelled casket by Plácido Zuloaga, 1891–1892
CuratorsNasser D. Khalili (founder)
Dror Elkvity (Curator and Chief Co-ordinator)
James D. Lavin (Special Advisor)[1]
Size (no. of items)100[2]
Websitehttps://www.khalilicollections.org/all-collections/spanish-damascene-metalwork/

The Khalili Collection of Spanish Damascene Metalwork is a private collection assembled by the British scholar, collector and philanthropist Nasser D. Khalili. It includes a hundred examples of damascened metalwork, in which gold or silver is pressed into an iron surface to create fine decoration. It is one of eight collections assembled, conserved, published and exhibited by Khalili, each of which is considered among the most important in its field.[3] The collection includes art works from 1850 to the early twentieth century, including many from the workshop of Plácido Zuloaga and other works from artists trained or influenced by Zuloaga. Almost all the works are from Eibar or Toledo.

Khalili, who also owns the world's largest private collection of Islamic art,[4] first encountered damascening in that context, and regards Spain as having "raised the art to the pinnacle of perfection" so began to collect Spanish damascene as well.[5] The collection has been the basis for international exhibitions including at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum and the Alhambra Palace in Granada.[6] Alan Borg, when Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, described the collection's catalogue as "a landmark in the study of nineteenth-century Spanish decorative art".[2]

  1. ^ "Spanish Damascene Metalwork". Khalili Collections. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b Borg, Alan "Preface" in Lavin 1997
  3. ^ "The Khalili Collections major contributor to "Longing for Mecca" exhibition at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam". UNESCO. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 16 April 2019. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  4. ^ Moore, Susan (12 May 2012). "A leap of faith". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  5. ^ Khalili, Nasser D. "Foreword" in Lavin 1997
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).