Randomly Pixellated

Tray India (Deccan), 17th century, Metal alloy with silver and brass inlay The bold contrasts of the pattern on this tray are typical of bidriware, a type of metalwork that and probably originated in the Islamic kingdoms of central India known as the Deccani sultanates. Bidriware objects graced the reception and private rooms of Deccani as well as Mughal elites. Trays like this one would have held a hookah and related accoutrements.

France (Paris), 1680 Made by Alexandre Voboam (active 1652-1680) Ebony, red cedar, spruce Admired and played by King Louis XIV, the guitar occupied a prominent position in 17th-century France. Used both as a solo instrument and to accompany courtly songs, French guitars were often beautifully decorated to complement the elegant settings in which they were played. The five pairs of gut strings are plucked or strummed with the fingertips.

France (Paris), 1680 Made by Alexandre Voboam (active 1652-1680) Ebony, red cedar, spruce Admired and played by King Louis XIV, the guitar occupied a prominent position in 17th-century France. Used both as a solo instrument and to accompany courtly songs, French guitars were often beautifully decorated to complement the elegant settings in which they were played. The five pairs of gut strings are plucked or strummed with the fingertips.

France (Paris), 1680 Made by Alexandre Voboam (active 1652-1680) Ebony, red cedar, spruce Admired and played by King Louis XIV, the guitar occupied a prominent position in 17th-century France. Used both as a solo instrument and to accompany courtly songs, French guitars were often beautifully decorated to complement the elegant settings in which they were played. The five pairs of gut strings are plucked or strummed with the fingertips.

Belgium, c.1810 Brass, Maple Turkish bands during the Ottoman Empire were known for their dramatic use of drums, cymbals, and bells. By the mid-18th century European bands began to adopt such percussion instruments for their own music. The most unusual of these was the Turkish crescent, an ornamented "bell tree" that added brilliance to marching and military music when shaken by the player.

Monet achieved the striking effects of his paintings of the Creuse Valley in central France through complex, superimposed layers of color, as he combined bold brushstrokes with intricate passages made up of many small touches. Delayed by bad weather while painting his Creuse scenes, Monet made just three paintings featuring this composition, so it is extraordinary to show these two side-by-side. Yet they were first featured together in Boston in 1905, in a Monet-Rodin exhibition at Copley Hall.

Monet was taken with the natural splendor he encountered in central France. Yet he did exert some creative control on the scenery when seasonal changes interfered with his compositions: "I'm going to offer fity francs to my landlord to see if I can have the oak tree's leaves removed; if I can't, I'm done for, since it appears in five paintings and plays a leading part in three.* Thankfully for Monet, the landlord agreed. Here, the oak tree sits on a triangle of land that the river curves around, its surface shimmering. Light plays across the overlapping masses of land rising to the left.

Yoshitomo Nara Japanese, b.1959 Your Dog Fiberglass, black paint, clear coat Nara's canine sculpture evokes the large stone guardians, often called "lion dogs" stationed at entrances of Shinto shrines to ward off evil spirits. It may also remind us of just how big a dog can seem when you are small — the immense scale of Your Dog adds an element of menace as it towers over us. Although they recall the artist's own youth, Nara's works subvert conventional depictions of childhood as happy, simple, and carefree. First rising to prominence in the mid-1990s, Nara is part of a generation of Japanese Neo Pop artists who employ the style and vocabulary of contemporary popular culture in order to both critique and celebrate it.

Taiko Chandler Japanese, born in 1963 2023, Monotype print on Tyvek This multi-dimensional work is an accumulation of many smaller, swirling prints, meticulously cut and affixed to the wall to create delicate, pulsing, water-like forms. Born and raised in Nagano, Japan, Taiko Chandler recalls childhood memories of the natural world and her frequent visits to a Hokusai museum. These recollections inform the shapes, colors, and sensations that appear in her work. She creates her site-specific installations with an intuitive, bodily process and aims to evoke fluidity, movement, and metamorphosis.