Rubin Museum of Art

he Rubin Museum of Art in New York City contacted me last Fall to assist in the design of the ’Guru’s platform’ which was part of the Sikh Exhibition ‘I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion’. The Rubin Museum is a beautiful and uplifting place and contains incredible Himalyan art. If you ever have a chance to visit, I recommend you take advantage of the opportunity, or visit their website, www.rmanyc.org. It is well worth your while. The Sikh Exhibition ran from September 2006 through January 2007. As most of the paintings and textiles in the exhibition were from hundreds of years ago, I researched the look of the Guru’s throne and had a Manji Sahib constructed. To match the more homespun look of the times, I chose tea-dyed fabric with a simple braided trim to cover the Guru and added jeweled pieces over the top, draping down the front. A matching fabric was chosen for the chandoah, which was simply constructed with gold tassels on the corners. It aimed to be historical in its representation and contain the presence of the Guru, even without the Siri Guru Granth Sahib installed.

		Reference material for the Manji Sahib was drawn from a painting in the book Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lord of the Five Rivers.
The Guru’s Manji Sahib and chandoah at the Sikh Exhibition
		Photo of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India placed behind the Manji Sahib