Cabana pays homage to the legacy of the Silk Roads, hosting an elegant reception at the British Museum with Sotheby’s and Turquoise Mountain, as Martina Mondadori signs copies of The Cabana Anthology, published by Vendome Press.
📍British Museum, London
BY SOPHIE GOODWIN | HAPPENINGS | 12 NOVEMBER 2024
Shoshana Stewart, Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, Martina Mondadori & Henry Howard-Sneyd at the British Museum. All image credits © Jason Lloyd-Evans
On Monday 11 November, Cabana collaborator Dr. Nicholas Cullinan, OBE, Director of the British Museum, opened his magnificent home to friends and admirers for a lively after-hours symposium on culture and craftsmanship along the Silk Roads.
Held in the institution's stunning Hutong gallery, the event marked a shared focus on the Silk Roads, with both Cabana and the British Museum this year paying homage to the legacy of the fabled routes. The talk was preceded by a drinks reception and followed by evening tours of Silk Roads, the museum's highly acclaimed exhibition - the first to open under Nicholas Cullinan's tenure.
Cabana's Editor-in-Chief, Martina Mondadori, was joined by esteemed panelists Henry Howard-Sneyd, Chairman of Sotheby’s, Shoshana Stewart, President of Turquoise Mountain and art historian Zumrad Ilyasova, Curator of Silk Roads.
Seated on a stage beneath one of the finest statues of the goddess Tara from Sri Lanka, in the exquisite surroundings of the Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia, Nicholas introduced the formidable line-up before watching from the front row with Mattias Vendelmans, Charlotte di Carcaci, and Rory Stewart.
On arrival guests, including Eugenie and Electra Niarchos, Alina Abegg, Irma Camperio Ciani Roder, and Noor Fares were greeted with ice cold martinis as London based Latin trio, S.O.L Collective - James Larter, percussion, Ollie Clark, guitar, and Jasper Ford on bass - belted out the best in live music.
A long-time supporter and close friend of Cabana Magazine and Martina, Beatrice Vincenzini, Managing Director of Vendome Press, the publisher of Cabana Anthology: The Anniversary Edition, was resplendent in Giambattista Valli. She spearheaded the book signing, which took place at the front of the gallery on Cabana’s Khiva linen from the A/W 24 Silk Road tabletop collection.
Designer Saffron Aldridge, chef Skye McAlpine and her Venetian husband, Anthony Santospirito, were among the chattering guests who joined Cabana for a private tour of the Silk Roads exhibition, a rare privilege to experience after-hours.
Martina’s inner circle joined her for an intimate dinner at the beautiful wood-paneled Dining Room at Cabana’s favourite haunt, Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, by kind permission of Lydia Forte. Three individual tables were decked out in Cabana’s new Khiva linens while pianist Robert Storey played by an open fire.
The evening's panelists sat shoulder-to-shoulder with friends of Cabana, including Rose Cholmondeley, Marina Lambton, Tristan Hoare and Deputy Editor Miguel Flores-Vianna, as they all dined on halibut with a brown butter sauce, accompanied by triple cooked chips and followed by crystal coups of tiramisu.