Rachel Ward will be coming to speak at the Ravi and Seran Trehan Lecture in Islamic Art and Material Culture on Tuesday, March 27, 2012. Her talk is entitled “The Courtauld Wallet: Metal, Marriage and Mongols in Medieval Mosul.”

Rachel Ward is an independent scholar. From 2002 to 2008, she served as Director and Vice President of the Royal Asiatic Society. From 1983 to 2000, Ward was Curator (Middle East) of the Department of Oriental Antiquities at the British Museum. Her research focuses mainly on the history, art, and archaeology of the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Her publications include Süleyman the Magnificent, co-author with J.M. Rogers (London, 1988); Islamic Metalwork (London, 1993); Gilded and Enamelled Glass from the Middle East, editor (London, 1998); and numerous articles. Ward is currently working on two publications: a catalogue of Arab and Ottoman Metalwork in the British Museum and a study of the Mamluk glass finds from the excavation of the Citadel at Aleppo. She is also the curator of an upcoming exhibition on the Courtauld Wallet to be held at the Courtauld Gallery in London in spring 2014.

The Courtauld Wallet is a brass container shaped like a handbag and inlaid with gold and silver. It features an elaborate court scene with an enthroned couple surrounded by courtiers, musicians, drinkers, and huntsmen. In her lecture, Ward will present a new interpretation of this enigmatic vessel in anticipation of the upcoming exhibition in London.

Light refreshments will be served at 5:45 pm. The presentation will begin at 6:00 pm.

RSVP is required. Please click on the registration link at the bottom of this page or contact [email protected].

PLEASE NOTE that our Lecture Hall can only accommodate a limited number of people, so please come early if you would like to have a seat in the main room. We also have overflow seating available; all registrants who arrive late will be seated in the overflow area.