The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence at Victoria & Albert Museum

 

The Giant Zumurrud Shah flees with his army by flying away on urns sent by sorcerers, Folio from the Hamza-Nama c. 1562-1577. Opaque water colour and gold on cotton backed with paper. MAK - Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna.
Photo © MAK / Georg Mayer

 
 

The Great Mughals

Art, Architecture and Opulence

 

November 9, 2024 — May 5, 2025

This major exhibition will celebrate the extraordinary creative output and internationalist culture of the Golden Age of the Mughal Court (about 1560 – 1660) during the reigns of its most famous emperors: Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Exhibition Highlights

 

Bejewelled dagger and scabbard, c. 1620. On loan from The al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah

Fall-front cabinet, Gujarat c.1600. Teak overlaid with mother-of-pearl and black lac, with engraved brass mounts.
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Akbar handing the imperial crown to Shah Jahan in the presence of Jahangir, Bichitr. Dated regnal year 3 (18 January 1630–7 January 1631), the borders c.1630–1640. Opaque watercolour and gold on paper. Folio from the Minto Album.
© CC BY – 4.0. Chester Beatty, Dublin

Shah Jahan as the King of the World By Bichitr, c.1628- 30, the borders probably c.1640-50. Opaque watercolour and gold on paper. Folio from the Minto Album.
© CC BY–4.0. Chester Beatty, Dublin

Inlaid marble balustrades, 17th Century. On loan from The al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah

Ewer, about 1600 – 25, Gujarat. Mother-of-pearl with metal pins.
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Inscribed royal spinel featuring the names of six rulers, Engraved by Sa'ida. Mid-15th Century to mid-18th Century. On loan from the al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait

Wine cup made for the Emperor Shah Jahan, 1657, Mughal court workshops. White nephrite jade.
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Emerald pendant bead, 17th Century. On loan from the al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait

Hunting coat, about 1610 – 25, Mughal court workshops. Embroidered satin
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Hunting coat, about 1610 – 25, Mughal court workshops. Embroidered satin
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

A zebra presented to the Mughal emperor Jahangir, by Mansur, 1621, Mughal court workshops. Opaque watercolour and gold on paper
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

A European, Court Workshops, c.1610-20. Opaque watercolour and gold on paper.
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Portrait of Shah Jahan holding an emerald by Muhammad 'Abed, borders by Harif, c. 1628. Opaque watercolour and gold on paper.
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Drawing of the cenotaph of Shah Jahan in the Taj Mahal at Agra, 1782–93, Delhi, India. Watercolour on paper. Lent by The Trustees of the Catherine Ruck 1987 Settlement.
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The Giant Zumurrud Shah flees with his army by flying away on urns sent by sorcerers, Folio from the Hamza-Nama c. 1562-1577. Opaque water colour and gold on cotton backed with paper. MAK - Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna.
Photo © MAK / Georg Mayer

Pendant, c. 1610 – 20, Mughal court workshops. Nephrite jade set with rubies and emeralds in gold
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Gold spoon set with diamonds, rubies and emeralds, c. 1600, Mughal court workshops.
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

 
News 15Editorial TeamArt of the Ancestors, Steven G. Alpert, Asian Art, Island Southeast Asian Art, Oceanic Art, Asiatica, Ethnographica, Ethnographic Art, Art Collection, Fine Art, Primitive Art, Indonesian Art, Tribal Art, Eyes of the Ancestors, Dr. Reimar Schefold, Victoria & Albert Museum