LONDON.- Oliver Hoare presents Every Object Tells a Story, a public exhibition on view from 4 May to 5 July 2017 at 5 Cromwell Place, London. The exhibition is dedicated to approximately 400 rare and fascinating objects spanning five millennia and representing countless civilisations, each selected on the basis of their backstory and historical interest.
Leading highlights and curiosities of the exhibition include a 13th-century silver drinking vessel bearing the seal of Mongke Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan and ruler of the Mongol dynasty at its peak; an exceptional group of objects from the Indus Valley civilisation, probably the finest in private hands; a silver skull pomander believed to have been owned by King James II; a rare group of votive figures from ancient Bactria; a 2000-year old Mexican stargazer; and sections dedicated to magic, myths, meteorites, sex and unicorns.
The exhibition take places in the former studio of the artist Sir John Lavery, R.A. (1856-1941) who occupied the space from 1899 until his death, during which time he hosted celebrated sitters including King George V, Winston Churchill and Oscar Wilde. It follows on from the success of the previous edition held in Fitzroy Square in 2015 which showed approximately 250 objects, from Gandhara sculptures to a Dodo bone, and which welcomed more than 10,000 visitors.
Oliver Hoare: “What is assembled here might look like a modern ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’, an assemblage of the exotic and curious from the four quarters of the world. There is an intention behind it, however, that goes beyond presenting a wide variety of curiosities. We are today linked up to all those four quarters, and while a huge amount of information is available to us, unlike to those who awaited the ships in the ports of Amsterdam, Genoa, Lisbon, London, Marseille, Seville or Venice, the horizon of what interests us seems to have shrunk. The art market is an interesting barometer of this shrinkage. The point is, therefore, that we can connect with the whole world on a more profound level than can be gained from package touring, through the possession of, and study of even the most modest objects of different cultures. The purpose of collecting, as Moliere might have put it, should not be limited to becoming rich through the investment in one’s purchases, but to become enriched through the intelligent possession of what one has acquired.”
Oliver Hoare is an independent art dealer specialising in Islamic art. He joined Christie’s in 1967 where he founded the Islamic Art department before leaving in 1975 to establish his own business. He has since advised a number of collectors and museums throughout the Middle East, as well as in Europe, the US and Japan, including the National Museum of Kuwait, the Nuhad Es-Said Collection (Beirut), and the Qatar National Museum. In 1994 he negotiated the exchange between the Iranian Government and the Houghton Family Trust whereby Iran recovered the 'Houghton Shahnameh', the most important illustrated Persian manuscript, in exchange for Willem de Kooning's painting 'Woman III' which was in the Tehran Contemporary Art Museum. He has published Portraits of the Masters, the first comprehensive book on Tibetan portrait bronzes (two volumes, 2003 and 2005), and The Silent Orchestra, a catalogue of Islamic musical instruments (2005). In 2015 he hosted Every Object Tells a Story at 33 Fitzroy Square, an exhibition that attracted over 10,000 visitors.
