Hew Locke (Scottish, born 1959). <em>Koh-i-noor</em>, 2005. Mixed media, 116 x 86 x 25 in. (294.6 x 218.4 x 63.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Charles Diamond and bequest of Richard J. Kempe, by exchange, 2007.54. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2007.54_PS11.jpg)

Hew Locke (Scottish, born 1959). Koh-i-noor, 2005. Mixed media, 116 x 86 x 25 in. (294.6 x 218.4 x 63.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Charles Diamond and bequest of Richard J. Kempe, by exchange, 2007.54. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2007.54_PS11.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Why does this have baby dolls in it?

They're all the kinds of items you'd buy somewhere like a dollar store: very inexpensive, made very cheaply and in large quantities. I don't know whether the dolls have any particular significance...however, their meaning is entirely up for interpretation.

For an interesting comparison to this work, check out the African "power figures" in the 1st-floor African galleries. They are made of wood and are pierced with nails the way this work is pierced with metal rods.

I read the summary of this but I'm interested to hear more about the artist's relationship with the crown.

The artist was born in Britain but raised in Guyana and in these monumental portraits explores the British crown's relationship with colonialism. Guyana was a British colony from the 18th century, not gaining independence until 1966, and remains a part of the Commonwealth. This statement comes from the artist's website: "Locke has adopted, questioned and subverted the visual display of those in power and those who aspire to power. "

What does the name mean?

The title "Koh-i-noor" refers to a diamond that has been treasured since the 14th century in India.

And what this work refers to is the basically the colonization of India by the British, where the diamond and other "jewels" are then taken away from India. More abstractly the work also represents a portrait of Queen Elizabeth.

The artist created this portrait from hundreds of cheap and banal plastic toys, which in a sense points to the disposable quality of our new global economy, which in turn also highlights the tension between a contemporary society and its colonial past.

Koh-i-noor

Hew Locke

Contemporary Art

For this monumental portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, Hew Locke used hundreds of inexpensive plastic tchotchkes such as flowers, insects, doll heads, necklaces, tiaras, and toy swords. The British-born artist grew up in Guyana, which was part of the British Empire from the early nineteenth century until its independence in 1966, and experienced the legacies of imperialism firsthand. The work’s title, Koh-i-noor, refers to one of the world’s largest cut diamonds, which was in the possession of various Sikh, Mughal, and Persian rulers until it was ceded to Queen Victoria following the British annexation of India. Locke explores how Britain’s transnational, colonialist histories manifest in contemporary society and teases out the ways personal greed, vanity, and artifice underlay global empire.

ARTIST Hew Locke, Scottish, born 1959

MEDIUM Mixed media

DATES 2005

DIMENSIONS 116 x 86 x 25 in. (294.6 x 218.4 x 63.5 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2007.54

CREDIT LINE Gift of Charles Diamond and bequest of Richard J. Kempe, by exchange

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Hew Locke (Scottish, born 1959). Koh-i-noor, 2005. Mixed media, 116 x 86 x 25 in. (294.6 x 218.4 x 63.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Charles Diamond and bequest of Richard J. Kempe, by exchange, 2007.54. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2007.54_PS11.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 2007.54_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2021

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

The Brooklyn Museum holds a non-exclusive license to reproduce images of this work of art from the rights holder named here. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org. If you wish to contact the rights holder for this work, please email copyright@brooklynmuseum.org and we will assist if we can.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.