The blue road

de Yuka Kadoi

One Wednesday when the blooming sun, Suffused with blue the sphere?s black dome, The King, victorious as the sun, Bright sky-like robes of turquoise donned, Went to the turquoise dome for sport; The tale was long, the day was short" ? From the Khamsa of Nizami0The King was the Persian Bahram Gur (r 420-38); the ?sport? was visiting one of his seven wives, this one from the Maghreb, who lived in a turquoise pavilion. And an illustration from a 1537 copy of the Khamsa shows the couple in her pavilion, richly embellished with tiles and murals of different shades of blue, as well as its dome ?suffused with blue?. Decorative details of gold and yellow enrich the sumptuous scene.0The significance of blue in illustrations of Persian literature, as well as its craft traditions cannot be over-emphasised. Neither can the impact of Persian blue on other cultures, particularly to the east. 'The Blue Road: Mastercrafts from Persia' celebrates the many permutations of the use of the colour blue, from palest turquoise to darkest indigo, as well as its life-giving symbolism ? think water and sky and then add its celestial quality. The show covers a range of materials and categories, particularly focusing on ceramics; but also celebrating blue in architectural decoration, glass, cloisonné, textiles and carpets, photographic prints, as well as painting in particular for manuscripts.00Exhibition: Liang Yi Museum, Hong Kong (20.03.-24.06.2018).