“Portrait of a European,” Mughal dynasty, 1610-20, Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, from Victoria and Albert MuseumUntil September 16, the Smithsonian Institution is holding a major exhibition, "Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries."
The event celebrates Portuguese sailors who braved international waters to create a global trading network that extended from Europe to Brazil, Africa, the Persian Gulf, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China and Japan. This vast naval empire connected civilizations from all the known continents, transforming commerce and initiating unprecedented cultural exchange.
"Encompassing the Globe" explores the artistic achievements that flourished when these sailors exposed new creative techniques and imagery to the world as they transported goods from port to port. Contacts within the newly-discovered regions - until then unknown to Europeans - led to the creation of highly original works of art.
The exhibition features 250 objects produced by each of the cultures touched by Portugal's early trade routes. Organized by the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and the Sackler Gallery, with support from Portugal’s Ministry of Culture, the exhibition will be on view to September 16 at the Sackler Gallery and the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C.
Originally, these works were displayed in princely "cabinets of wonder" - predecessors of the modern museum - in palaces and other royal collections throughout the world.
It is this Renaissance of exploration and discovery of two-thirds of world that inspired the exhibition. Many of the items on display come from Portugal’s finest museums, including the Museum Nacional de Arte Antiga.
The long-term global impact of their achievement is clear: Portugal discovered the world for the world. Starting with Vasco De Gama's discovery of India, explorers expanded their empire between the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Theirs were daring voyages made on sleek caravels using pioneering technologies to sail in deep waters navigated only by the stars.
From the exhibition website, "Portugal's voyages of exploration turned a small country on the periphery of Europe into a major world power, establishing a unique empire that was based on trade rather than territory...yet the Empire's most enduring legacy was cultural rather than political. The seaborne network of communications connected previously isolated parts of the globe and enabled an unprecedented, worldwide exchange of information.
Note to Clare: Up yours!
