ASIAN ART IN LONDON
AAL Art Awards Shortlist, 2021: Sotheby's

VIDEO DESCRIPTION
Rukmani Rathore, specialist in the Middle Eastern and Indian Art Department at Sotheby’s, presents Sotheby’s shortlisted piece for the Antiques Trade Gazette Award for Outstanding Islamic or Indian Work of Art from an Auction House - a pair of Mughal spectacles set with emerald lenses in diamond-mounted frames. Surpassing the imagination, the following spectacles were set with emerald lenses that were conceived in the seventeenth century and placed into their current frames in circa 1890. They have been named Emeralds for Paradise: The Astaneh-Ye Ferdaws spectacles in reference to the Islamic association of the colour green with that of paradise, salvation and eternity. Originally conceived from a natural emerald which must have weighed more than sixty grams, roughly over 300 carats, the origin of the emerald can be traced all the way to the Muzo mines of Colombia. The silver frames into which these special lenses were placed are decorated with rose-cut diamonds set in the pachchikam technique. These spectacles represent not only a technical feat in their cleavage, but also extraordinary boldness and invention, one which is also rooted in tradition. Sotheby’s is honoured to present these spectacles that have never before appeared on the market but have been the focus of a multitude of scholarly research.

ABOUT THE AAL ART AWARDS
Every autumn Asian Art in London (AAL) brings together leading international dealers and auction houses from the UK, Europe, USA and Asia, who specialize in a wide variety of ancient to modern Asian art, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Islamic and Middle Eastern, Himalayan and Central Asian, Southeast Asian. As part of the annual event, the AAL Art Awards highlights outstanding pieces of work in four categories:

1- Antiques Trade Gazette Award for Outstanding East Asian Work of Art from an Auction House
2- Antiques Trade Gazette Award for Outstanding Islamic or Indian Work of Art from an Auction House
3- Apollo Award for Outstanding East Asian Work of Art from a Dealer
4- Apollo Award for Outstanding Islamic or Indian Work of Art from a Dealer

Click here to learn more about Asian Art in London: www.asianartinlondon.com 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & CREDITS
Asian Art in London
Cover image credit: AAL