About me
My passion for art research stems from my keen interest in understanding the world through history of art, beginning with antiquity, travelling through the middle ages and continuing into contemporary art. After gaining that knowledge, I decided to specialise in the beauty, passion and ideas transmitted by the Persian and Indian artists who dedicated their entire lives to creating magnificent miniature paintings in the form of folios, muraqas and manuscripts.
My qualifications include:
- Bachelor Degree in Fine and Decorative Art from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London
- Masters’ degrees in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London
- Masters’ degrees in Fine & Decorative Art from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London
- Diploma in Asian Art from the British Museum
- Masters’ in Art and Archaeology at School of Oriental and African Studies specialising in Islamic art
My degrees from Sotheby’s included courses in Madrid, Paris, Bologna, Naples and Venice.
Experience
I have given lectures at the National Gallery, SOAS and Sotheby’s Institute of Art in various subjects ranging from Persian miniature and manuscripts to decorative art.
In publishing, I worked as keyword editor for the Index Islamicus Journal. I have edited two books in Spanish and worked in translation from English into Spanish of the book Islamic Art by Dr. Barbara Brend. I represented Art Nexus Magazine at various European Art Fairs over two years.
As a cataloguer, I have produced catalogues of the following Asian works of art: Persian, Turkish and Indian Manuscripts; Chinese Paintings; Japanese 19th Century Woodprints and; Antique Oriental Carpets. I’ve also produced the following European Catalogues: Old Master Drawings and Paintings; 19th Century Sculpture; Italian Sculpture and; Italian Furniture.
As an art historian, I have written an article about The Zafarnāmeh (The life of Timur) written by the Persian historian Sharaf al-Din ‘Ali Yazdi. The article has been published by the University of Salamanca (Spain).
Grants
I was awarded a Sotheby’s scholarship to complete a BA(Hons) in Fine and Decorative Art, MA in Art Business and MA in Fine and Decorative Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. I have also been awarded grants to study Codicology of Arab Script manuscripts at Cambridge University Library; to participate in the workshop in conservation and restoration of Mediterranean manuscripts at the Sakip Sabançi Museum in Istanbul; and to complete both a course on narrative paintings and illuminated manuscripts from Asian and the Middle East, and a course on the art and culture of Central Asia: the early empires of the Silk Road at SOAS.
I have further my knowledge on codicology of Persian manuscripts by attending courses on Paper at the British Library, Pigments at Motefiascone, Italy, How to Transform Rocks, Plants and Animals into Pigments and Dyes in London and Technical Photography including VIS, RAK, UVF, UVR, IR, IRF, IRFC, Infrared Reflectography, RTI , Reflectance Spectroscopy, MutiSpectral Imaging, 3D photo modelling and Panoramic Photography in Sicily, Italy.
I attended a course on the Persian language at St. Andrews University and I continue studying Persian at SOAS, University of London. My paper about The Zafarnāmeh (The life of Timur) was presented at the University of Salamanca (Spain), thanks to a grant from The Soudavar Memorial Foundation.
Specialism
One of my specialisations is in Persian and Indian miniature paintings. I work with Persian manuscripts from the 16th and 17th centuries that found their way into India and were altered in Indian workshops before being brought to England. Close scrutiny of these manuscripts, with both the application of new technologies and the customary methods of art-historical research have resulted in new findings that have important implications for our understanding of the subject under review.
Current work on Persian and Indian manuscripts includes applying X-ray and multi-spectral imaging techniques. This work has been sponsored by The Soudavar Memorial Foundation.
Languages
English, Spanish and Persian.
Travel
I have travelled extensively in Europe, Asia and North Africa gaining an understanding of different cultures and religions. I visited and participated in academic research projects on many of Europe’s most prestigious 16th to 20th Century stately houses and museums