A 15th century Naga Sapta Naadi portray fashioned of seven serpentine strains represents the sevenfold divisions in the universe as a cosmic river of time and actuality. Another, of a Nag-Pash Yantra, is a geometrical schema of two copulating serpents from Hindu non secular apply. The Serpenti Infinito exhibition by Bvlgari in Mumbai, curated by art gallery Nature Morte, provides an interesting perception into these and different symbols of the naga or serpent by the historic associations and inventive traditions of India.
The naga, a timeless motif embodying safety and renewal, has resonated throughout faiths and cultural expressions in India. But what does this symbolism should do with the Italian luxurious vogue home? Well, in 1948, Bvlgari introduced the mysticism of the ‘serpenti’ to the world, through its iconic jewelry and watches — a narrative it has continued to inform by cross-cultural exhibitions, occasions and heritage dialogues throughout nations.
Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas in Bvlgari’s Serpenti Maharani Secret necklace on the Serpenti Infinito exhibition in Mumbai, October 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images
This present marks Bvlgari’s India launch and presents over 75 works and 23 acclaimed artists in an exhibition celebrating the ‘Serpenti’ icon. Like its Shanghai and Seoul editions celebrating the Chinese Year of the Snake, the India exhibition, drawn from institutional and personal collections, additionally examines the symbiotic relationship between the serpent and historical past, art and that means.
The tableau of artworks is numerous — from artist Radha Sollur and her spectacular sculptural kinds in paper to Turkish-American media artist Refik Anadol’s futuristic work, an interesting 360-degree mirrored atmosphere formed by machine studying algorithms educated on pure snake kinds. Critically acclaimed Madhubani artist Baua Devi, one of many few Indian girls who has proven on the Centre Pompidou, presents her serpent kinds together with different notable artists similar to Subodh Gupta, Reena Saini Kallat, Olivia Fraser and Rithika Merchant.
Enter Projects Asia’s Rattan Snake (left) and Subodh Gupta’s Infinite Sleeper, that includes bronze and brass utensils.
Serpenti Infinito has been put collectively by Nature Morte and Artistic Director Sean Anderson, who was previously Associate Curator at New York’s MoMA and co-curator of the first-ever Qatar pavilion at Venice Biennale’s Exhibition of Architecture this yr. Edited excerpts from a dialog:
Sean Anderson, curator of Serpenti Infinito in Mumbai, is Associate Professor in Architecture at Cornell University.
| Photo Credit:
Chloe Burton-Green
How did the thought for a present about nagas and art come about?
My ambition was to not isolate the picture of the naga or the serpent however give it some thought holistically — suppose throughout time and throughout varied contexts of India, in specific. Knowing that the naga has had a transcendental facet to it all through time, a non secular significance, and a locality hooked up to it, I needed to create a picture of the naga that embraces its multiplicity. And, in fact, give it some thought with resonance inside inventive practices.
Protective goddess Manasa, the guardian deity in opposition to the perils of snakebite in the dense mangroves of Eastern India jungles, executed in the big format Kalighat type by artist Kalam Patua.
The 108 Karanas of Natyashastra by R. Srinivasan and L. Rathakrishnan options 108 bronze sculptures of the god of dance, Nataraja, depicting completely different mudras that symbolise the naga.
| Photo Credit:
Jignesh Jhaveri
What did it imply to conceptualise a themed exhibition on Indian art for a global jewelry model?
Bvlgari had a particular trajectory of how this exhibition might be made based mostly on their earlier present in Shanghai however I felt it was extraordinarily necessary that we not consider the naga as one singular idea and questioned whether or not we might make an exhibition the place the jewelry is just not separate from the art. In India, the naga might be representated with many meanings, both as a person or collective reminiscence or as an inventive expression. The exhibition seems to be on the historical past of the naga in India by tales, narrative, spatially and thru textures. I needed a global jewelry model to be refracted by Indian art.
Adding to 11 items from the Bvlgari Heritage Collection, courting again to 1955, is the India version of the excessive jewelry. Featured here’s a Serpenti necklace with a cabochon sapphire stone.
It is fascinating that the present juxtaposes worldwide jewelry with Indian art.
I felt it was necessary to nuance what the serpent in Indian art is perhaps, and in addition that the art not be a backdrop for the jewelry. The exhibition goals at amplifying the jewelry and vice versa and is a chance for reciprocity, to inform us one thing about ourselves. Representing India was no straightforward job and there was a lot to indicate. I needed it to attraction and communicate to as many various voices and constituencies as potential.
A Bvlgari bracelet watch on show, one in every of 50-plus excessive jewelry items alongside three ranges of art, on the Serpenti Infinito exhibition in Mumbai.
What can the customer anticipate to see?
The exhibition has historic art, historic art and works from modernism borrowed from museums, establishments and collectors. There are giant, commissioned works just like the immersive work by Anadol. The non-Indian artists are proven as a result of there’s a very robust thematic relationship with their art. Working with the curatorial perspective of discovering artworks that take care of the theme of serpents, I discovered plenty of resonance with localised artworks and needed no division between indigenous, trendy and up to date art — phrases which can be utilized by art historians to create completely different types of worth.
Padma Shri Baua Devi’s Bal Basant (2005) is a sequence in the Bharni type of work from the Madhubani and Mithila districts of Bihar.
Madhubani artist Baua Devi (proper)
What are the thrilling works in there for you?
They are all my favourites as a result of I selected them, however a discovery for me was Baua Devi. She is an distinctive artist, a storyteller who makes beautiful work and drawings which can be narrative in construction and type and make you realise that we’re embedded in worlds typically of our personal making and typically not. My hope for the customer in this exhibition is to expertise the a number of presents of Indian art.
Serpenti Infinito is on view at Art House, NMACC, Mumbai, until October 17.
The interviewer is the founder-director of Eka Archiving Services.
Published – October 04, 2025 09:01 am IST
