Good Earth’s creative director collaborates with London auction house to present art from both ‘Islamic and Indian worlds’
Good Earth’s creative director collaborates with London auction house to present art from both ‘Islamic and Indian worlds’
It’s no surprise that 73-year-old Anita Lal, fondly known by her namesake letter AL, is Christie’s Tastemaker for this week’s Spring Sale. After all, the founders of Good Earth, the home goods and apparel company that celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, have spearheaded a number of craft interventions. The brand was behind interior restorations such as the Rajmahal Palace in Jaipur, partnerships with the Victoria and Albert Museum (India’s Textile Exhibition) and, most recently, the Heirloom Project at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This marked a decade of the Islamic wing of the museum. This month, as the Tastemaker for The art of the Islamic and Indian worlds, including Eastern carpets and rugsLal created an edit of personal favorites from the sale and has curated digital vignettes with Good Earth products, items he has “cherished over the years”.
Tabrez carpet envisioned at Anita Lal’s house in Delhi
While this is the first time Christie’s has worked with a tastemaker in India, past tastemakers have included Erin Lauder (of luxury US brand Erin’s) and British interior designers Rita Koenig and Kit Kemp. Meanwhile, at Christie’s headquarters in central London, the three-room vignettes have been recreated from Good Earth personally selected by Lal. They will be displayed along with approximately 211 lots from the 9th to 19th centuries. More from Good Earth’s founder and creative director:
“Islamic culture is deeply integrated within the Indian subcontinent, and it shows in our clothes, our music, our food, our language and our decorative patterns. It is so integral to our lives that we hardly notice it.”Anita LaliFounder, Good Earth
What draws you to Islamic design terminology and which collection of Good Earth best represents it?
As a Design House based out of India, we celebrate every cultural aspect of the subcontinent [including Vedic, Buddhist, Persian and Mughal influences, and from lands across the Silk Road], Islamic culture is deeply integrated within the Indian subcontinent, and it is reflected in our dress, our music, our food, our language and our decorative patterns.
Over the years we have created many design collections based on certain aspects of Islamic design including old shawls. was one of my favorites Farah BakshiA Persian/Urdu word that translates as ‘giver of happiness’ is inspired by Charbagh, a Persian paradise garden built in Kashmir by the Mughals.
Radha and Krishna on a terrace in the Hill Hills, India, early 19th century. Painting and folio (estimate £10,000-15,000)
What did you enjoy working with the most?
If I had to pick one item from sale, it would be Tabriz carpet. Van Vaibhav means ‘the splendor of the forest’ and is a leitmotif in Gud meaning. Trees blooming with birds and animals is a recurring theme in our designs which is explained very brilliantly in this carpet.
You mention that you value the visual and emotional appeal of an artwork better than the monetary value.
I cherish things ranging from the tiniest handmade ceramic vase to a gorgeous sculpture or an antique chair and piece them all together. My home is a cozy mix of everything that I love and includes some priceless inherited antiques and agra prison carpet with studio pottery that I have been collecting and a lot of Indian art that my husband created. Bought for years. Our furniture is also a mix of modern pieces that sits alongside vintage furniture from the family’s ancestral home in Hisar.
what to expect
The works of art at Christie’s sale date from the 9th to the 19th centuries and offer nearly 211 lots, from manuscripts and drawings to ceramics, metalwork, and rugs. There are about 70 carpets and rugs representing all aspects of Persian carpet weaving, from depictions of natural and delicate flowers woven in Tabriz Iran to the warm, warm palette of Kurdish nomads.
A tastemaker who sets the bar at home with lavish dinners and entertainment?
bim bissell [wife of Fabindia’s founder, the late John Bissell] The first one that comes to mind as Tastemaker. Her stylish home reflects her warm personality and she entertains in an easy-going, casual style, mixing interesting people of all age groups with diverse interests. Bissell Christmas Brunch is legendary.
Open for viewing until 30 March. Auction on March 31 in King Street, London. Details at christies.com