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PRODID:-//Seattle Art Museum//Events Calendar//EN
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UID:whats-on/events/saturday-university-plumage-and-power-decadence-and-decay-mar-8@sam.org
DTSTAMP:20260506T023013Z
DTSTART:20250308T180000Z
DTEND:20250308T193000Z
SUMMARY:Saturday University: Plumage and Power\, Decadence and Decay
DESCRIPTION:Welcome to Saturday University\, a monthly lecture series featuring experts
  from around the world. Gain new insights on Asia throughout time as our vi
 siting scholars\, authors\, artists\, and thought leaders delve into new th
 emes each season.\nPlumage and Power\, Decadence and Decay: Fashioning Lady
  Curzon\, Vicereine of India\nSiddhartha V. Shah\nLook closely at a gown co
 mmissioned by the Vicereine of India\, Lady Curzon\, to examine how fashion
 —specifically womenswear—has been used at various moments in history to con
 vey imperial power. Worn at the 1903 Delhi Durbar State Ball\, the legendar
 y Peacock Dress was covered in tessellated peacock feathers embroidered in 
 gold\, silver\, and copper threads\, further embellished with lace and seve
 ral pounds of diamonds. The dress was as symbolic as it was magnificent and
  transformed the statuesque Vicereine into a luminous spectacle that veiled
  the many ways in which the Raj and Curzon herself were falling apart at th
 e seams.\nThe dress has deteriorated significantly since 1903 and is curren
 tly undergoing extensive treatment to bring it back to its original state. 
 Together we will consider what it is that is being preserved by resurrectin
 g the Peacock Dress. Is it the gown's exceptional Indian craftsmanship\, th
 e heartbreaking tale of Lady Curzon's life\, or perhaps nostalgia for the g
 lory days of Empire? We examine how dress can simultaneously reveal our aut
 hentic and aspirational selves while also laying bare our deepest insecurit
 ies. We also explore the tensions between the natural process of decay and 
 our often unnatural efforts to prevent it.\nSiddhartha V. Shah is the John 
 Wieland 1958 Director of the Mead Art Museum at Amherst\nCollege where he o
 versees the museum’s collections\, exhibitions\, and programs\, as well as 
 a variety of initiatives aimed at deepening community engagement both on an
 d off campus. He was previously Director of Education and Civic Engagement\
 , and Curator of South Asian Art\, at the Peabody Essex Museum\, and had a 
 career as a gallerist\, gallery director\, and dealer of South Asian and Hi
 malayan art for over 15 years. Shah's academic and curatorial projects have
  been featured in publications ranging from The Times of India and India To
 day to The New Yorker\, The Wall Street Journal\, and Psychology Today. He 
 received a BA in Art History from Johns Hopkins University\, an MA in East-
 West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies\, and a P
 hD in Art History &amp\; Archaeology from Columbia University where his res
 earch engaged with the politics of styling Empire in Victorian India throug
 h fashion\, jewels\, and public spectacle.\nTickets\n$15\n$10 SAM members &
 amp\; students with ID\nTickets include gallery access
LOCATION:Seattle Asian Art Museum\, 1400 E Prospect St\, Seattle\, WA 98112
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