… and you’ll find it at the Aga Khan Museum.
The centerpiece of the latest special exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum is a large moon created by British artist Luke Jerram from detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. It measures five metres in diameter and is illuminated from inside.
Since the dawn of civilization, the moon has captivated cultures and inspired people. Along with the large moon, the Aga Khan Museum has put together an assortment of paintings, texts, and scientific objects that have been produced over the centuries that together give a glimpse into mankind’s fascination with the moon.
below: An illustrated page from “A Translation of Stars of the Legend”, from Baghdad 1590-1599 (Ottoman-period Iraq). Watercolor, gold, and ink on paper.
below: Many Indian palaces included moonlight gardens with white marble walkways and pools to reflect the moon. Night blooming flowers such as jasmine were grown. The illustration below is from the 18th century, Murshidabad, Lucknow, watercolour and gold on paper.
below: “Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaykh to Earthly Kings”, painted by Bichitr, India, 1615-1618. The Emperor’s halo combines the sun and the crescent moon – a slim crescent moon hugs most of the sun’s border and this day and night are brought together. Mughal emperors, such as Jahangir, considered a harmonious relationship between the sun and moon to be essential for the fortunes of their kingship. Sufi Shaykh, from the title, is the man receiving a book from the Emperor. Small, and therefore less important, are the Ottoman Sultan and King James I of England. The smallest man in Bichitr, the painter. This is a large reproduction of a painting that is 18 cm x 23 cm.
below: Plaster cast of Queen Ahmose carrying a fly whisk (The original was excavated at Deir-al-Bahri in Egypt, from the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, 18th dynasty ca 1473-1458 BCE). Queen Ahmose was the mother of Hatshepsut and her name means “born of the moon”. In ancient Egypt, the crescent moon symbolized Isis, goddess of fertility, women, and the mother of gods.
below: “Tell me the story about how the sun loved the moon so much he died every night to let her breathe”
as I walk Toronto 