D Giles Ltd Silver & Cermenony from South & Southeast Asia 1830 - 1930: The Harish K. Patel Collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art

Silver elevates use, not only for the diverse religious rituals of Southern Asia, but also consumption of and access to once - new items: photographs, mirrors, railways, and automobiles; newly invented or tra ded foods including tea , coffee, Indian pale ale, wines, dairy products, relishes, fruits and seasonings . M any of these items originated in Southern Asia and were among the first tinned or bottled items to circulate in global markets. A d iscuss ion of Southern Asian silver’s artistry , functionality and cultural and economic soft power is accompanied by a spectacular array of 130 suites of silver and 22 design drawings . Tushara Bindu Gude i s formerly associate curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at LACMA . Kimberly Masteller is Jeanne McCray Beals Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art , Nelson - Atkins Museum of Art. Katherine Anne Paul is lead curator and Virginia and William M. Spencer III Curator of Asian Art , Birmingham Museum of Art. Richard A. Pegg is the director and curator of Asian Art for the MacLean Collection . Romita Ray is associate professor of Art History at Syracuse University . Laura C. Woodard is librarian and archivist, Birmingham Museum of Art.