The Al Thani Collection
Interview of Amin Jaffer
www.thealthanicollection.com
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Gallery 2 – Faces Through the Ages
© The Al Thani Collection 2022. All rights reserved. Photography by Marc Domage.
Amin Jaffer is the Director of the Al Thani Collection.
Interview by Thomas Ménard.
Could you explain us what the origin of the Al Thani Collection is?
The Al Thani Collection as it is assembled represents the vision of Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani who has held a lifelong fascination for the arts, having been a passionate collector since his university years. Spanning from the neolithic period to modern times, works of art from the Collection have been shared with the public through temporary exhibitions and individual loans at institutions around the world. More recently, as a result of an agreement between The Al Thani Collection Foundation and the Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN), the Collection has found a long-term home at the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris where dedicated galleries allow for its treasures to be exhibited to the public.
In a few words, how could you describe the Collection?
The Collection represents the unique artistic vision of its creator and illustrates high points of human creativity across periods and civilisations. Comprising more than five thousand works, it is diverse in nature, representing, for example, East Asian, pre-Hellenic and Egyptian antiquities to Mayan art and contemporary jewels. Bringing together highpoints of human creative endeavour from across civilisations, the Collection celebrates cultural diversity and exchange.
The Collection has first been shown through temporary exhibitions around the world. Could you tell us about this initial step?
Works of art from the Collection have been shown at leading institutions around the world from the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Palace Museum in Beijing to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Tokyo National Museum. Each exhibition has been unique, reflecting the particularities of the setting, the culture of the host institution and the interests of the local audience. One of the most rewarding aspects of such projects has been the chance to work with colleagues in different geographies towards the common goal of displaying and interpreting works of art for the public. The presentation and reception of the same work of art in Tokyo might be different than in Paris. Whatever the nuances, it is always rewarding to witness the appreciation triggered by great works of art, however familiar an audience might be with the origin of their makers.
A very small part of the Al Thani Collection is now on display at the Hôtel de la Marine. How are you choosing the work of arts?
There are four galleries at the Hôtel de la Marine dedicated to The Al Thani Collection. One of them is always used to stage a biannual series of temporary exhibitions: these have included works of art from Islamic lands drawn from the Collection and an exhibition about the taste and collection of Calouste Gulbenkian from the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. The current temporary exhibition in Gallery 3 includes seventy medieval treasures from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, highlighting the complex and interdependent relationship of England and Continental Europe throughout the Middle Ages. The other galleries usually show works of art from The Al Thani Collection, though occasionally a temporary exhibition might grow into this space; for the last temporary exhibition, three of the four galleries were filled with masterpieces from the Ca’ d’Oro in Venice. The selection of treasures from the Collection currently on view in Galleries 1,3 and 4 is largely that chosen for the opening of the space in 2021, though whenever the space has been rearranged for temporary exhibitions, a small number of works have been rotated into the display. Going forwards, the selection will evolve depending on a range of factors including the schedule and subject of the temporary exhibitions and what is requested for loan by other institutions.
We have just talked about the temporary exhibitions with loans from major European institutions. Is it an important part of your mission?
Loan exhibitions from other museums developed in close collaboration with the CMN form an integral aspect of The Al Thani Collection’s programme at l’Hotel de la Marine. These exhibitions may be developed to align with wider national objectives – such as that from the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, proposed by the CMN as a contribution to the Saison France-Portugal – or may reflect The Al Thani Collection’s existing institutional relationships or areas of interest – as with the upcoming series of three exhibitions from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Future years will see temporary exhibitions in some cases drawn entirely from The Al Thani Collection, in other instances from single or multiple lenders. These loan exhibitions allow us to offer the public a rich and dynamic programme while permitting us to develop bonds with museums and curators worldwide. Among these is an ongoing exchange of loans with The Museum of Islamic Art in Jerusalem, which at present has lent us an extraordinary medieval silver jug, one of the most important surviving examples of early Islamic metalwork.
Like the Al Thani Collection, you were born from diverse civilisations. Where are your roots?
That’s true. I was born in Rwanda to a family that has been based in Africa for many generations – India is my ancestral home. My formative years were spent between Africa, Europe and North America. Today, I spend most of my time between Paris, Venice and Portugal, but with constant visits to the United Kingdom. The subject of cultural encounter and exchange – particularly between Europe and Asia – has formed the backbone of my academic career and has characterised my publications and early museum exhibitions. Growing up with a mixed heritage – Indian in Africa under strong European influence – I have always held a very broad perspective when it comes to culture, nationality and identity: this certainly aligns with the Collection and its celebration of cultural exchange.
How did you become the curator of such a collection?
Having studied History of Art at the University of Toronto, I moved to London where I completed a doctoral thesis at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I started my working career as a Curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum, where over thirteen years I authored a number of books among them Furniture from British India and Ceylon (2001), Luxury Goods from India (2002) and Made for Maharajas: a Design Diary of Princely India (2006), and co-curated the exhibitions Encounters: the Meeting of Asia and Europe, 1500–1800 (2004) and Maharaja: the Splendour of India’s Royal Courts (2009), also co-editing the associated publications.
I subsequently moved to Christie’s where I was International Director of Asian Art, and where I first met Sheikh Hamad and became involved with the Collection. This period saw the first Al Thani Collection exhibitions – at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Miho Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 2017 I left Christie’s to work full-time with The Al Thani Collection and to prepare for major loan exhibitions in Japan, Paris, Venice, Beijing and at the Chateau de Fontainebleau. It has been a very busy few years as the Collection has grown, developed and evolved to where it is now.
What is the daily routine of the Director of one of the most prestigious private collections in the world?
There is no such thing! One of the most appealing elements of the job is that no two days are ever the same. As well as exhibitions and events at the Hôtel de la Marine and the international loans programme, there are always ongoing activities with colleagues and institutions around the world. I am constantly in touch with our teams and partners, including scholars, curators and administrators, in matters ranging from exhibition programming, design and publications to loans and educational and philanthropic activities.
Amin Jaffer, Director of The Al Thani Collection.
© Photograph by António Martinelli
‘Treasures of the Mughals and the Maharajas – The Al Thani Collection’ held at The Doge’s Palace, Venice, from 9 September 2017 to 3 January 2018
© The Al Thani Collection – Credit: Robert Simpson
View of ‘Ca’ d’Oro, Masterpieces of the Renaissance in Venice’ at The Al Thani Collection at the Hôtel de la Marine (30 November 2022 – 7 May 2023)
© The Al Thani Collection 2022. All rights reserved. Photograph by Marc Domage.
LES AMIS DU PATRIMOINE EUROPÉEN 