Just an appetizer
“Dining with the Sultan: The Fine Art of Feasting” Munching on crocodile eggs and gazelle fattened on human milk by Bondo Wyszpolski Coat, Iran, Safavid, late 18th century, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Mrs.Gordon Knight Smith, photo © Museum Associates/LACMAThe title of this exhibition, in the Resnick Pavilion at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, says it all. Or does it? On view through August 4, the show features some 250 works (mostly eating utensils and dinnerware) that “explore Islamic art in the context of its associated culinary traditions.” It tells us how the well-to-do autocrats of centuries past savored their meals, surrounded by music and delicious aromas. I knew exactly what to expect before entering the dimmed hall, the perfumed incense wafting through the doors and into the courtyard, the sinuous girls in their diaphanous blouses handing out demitasses of coffee smelling pungently of pipe tobacco, shoe polish, and sardines, the invitations to remove our shoes and to recline on thick Persian carpets near one of the many food carts, and the proffered bowls of pecans, almonds, walnuts, and pistachios while one of the many strolling minstrels pauses to…
Read this story on easyreadernews.com