Tesori d'Oriente: Indian Artifacts at Fontanellato's Labirinto della Masone

Curated by Pedro Moura Carvalho, the exhibition 'Tesori d'Oriente' at the Labirinto della Masone in Fontanellato showcases luxury artifacts from Gujarat (16th–18th centuries). The display is structured around Garcia de Orta's 1563 treatise 'Colóquios dos simples e drogas he cousas mediçinais da India', which documented animal, vegetable, and mineral substances from India. De Orta, a Portuguese physician who settled in Goa in 1538, studied materials like ivory, mother-of-pearl, shellac, and tortoiseshell, attributing curative powers to them. His work was later translated and popularized in Europe by Carolus Clusius. The exhibition groups objects by material, revealing lost craftsmanship and trade networks connecting Goa to Muslim, Portuguese, Italian, and French courts. Highlights include intricately carved caskets (often repurposed as reliquaries), inlaid pieces, and objects blending Christian iconography with Oriental styles. The venue itself, the Labirinto della Masone, reflects the collection of publisher Franco Maria Ricci, who supported this book-to-art project. The exhibition explores the historical union of East and West through art and science.