Silver & Ceremony from South & Southeast Asia 1830-1930: The Harish K. Patel Collection at the Birmi

A dazzling testament to Southern Asian silver's role in the transformation and consumption of once rarified goods to those taken for granted daily around the world.

Silver elevates use, not only for the diverse religious rituals of Southern Asia, but also consumption of and access to then-new items: photographs, colored prints, mirrors, railways, and automobiles; newly invented or trans-planted foods including teas and coffees, Indian pale ale, punch, antipodean wines, milk products, relishes, mustards, fruits, and specialty seasonings (like pepper, salt, and sugar). Many of these items originated in Southern Asia and were among the first tinned or bottled items to circulate in global markets. Five scholarly essays and two interviews discuss the artistry and functionality of Southern Asian silver. A spectacular array of 130 suites of silver and twenty-two design drawings, devotedly collected by Mr. Harish K. Patel, showcases Southern Asia's cultural and economic soft power through silver.