“India’s Great Mughals” Exhibit Celebrates Creative Output, Spans a Century!
In the wake of 500-plus years of Muslim rule being expunged from Indian history textbooks (see Al Jazeera article below), this might be the perfect time to check out an excellent exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (VMFA). India’s Great Mughals: Art, Power, and Opulence offers valuable lessons in history and art while celebrating the extraordinary creative output of the period. Before Richmond, the display was in London and Hong Kong; it goes next to Nashville, Tennessee in 2027, but (alas) not to India! Interestingly, 2026 marks the 500-year milestone of the Mughal Empire’s founding in India.
Expertly curated by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London (from where it derives most of its pieces), it has also drawn from the VMFA’s South Asia collection, and more than thirty others, among them, the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence, the al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait, and the al-Thani Collection in Qatar. Paintings not seen in a generation are included as well as two hundred-plus objects made of cloth, enamel, glass, ivory, marble, metal, paper, stone, and wood.
At its peak, the Moghul Empire was one of the world’s richest and most progressive, encompassing most of subcontinental India, and far outstripping contemporary Islamic empires of the Ottomans and Safavids (1). Although its history is long and complex — the first emperor (Babur) a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan, ascended the throne in 1526, and the last (Bahadur Shah Zafar), was deposed by the British more than three centuries later — the exhibition focuses only on three rulers: Akbar (1556–1605), Jahangir (1605–27), and Shah Jahan (1628–58). Their greatness derives from their patronage of art, how they deployed that art, and their openness to other cultures.
Historical Reference Timeline
The historical timeline is significant. The artistic golden age of the Mughals began decades before the 1607 founding of the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, Jamestown in Virginia. In 1609, Captain William Hawkins, an Englishman with the East India Company, arrived at Jahangir’s court to broker a trade agreement. Although the three emperors are roughly contemporary with British monarchs Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I, the Mughal empire was already synonymous with magnificence, luxury, and power — whereas England (at the time) had only just begun to dream of empire!
Each room is filled with exceptional pieces: jalis (stone screens), huqqa (water pipe) bases, ewers, decanters, and divination rings made of bronze and copper, gold leaf-illustrated manuscript pages from Akbar’s Kitab Khana (House of Books), mother-of-pearl and ivory cabinets, jeweled swords, scabbards, punch daggers, and natural history paintings (demonstrating the courts’ attention to science and reason), and marble balustrades inlaid with jasper, carnelian, and topaz. There are also precious gems (see pics): diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, including a red spinel inscribed with the names of six rulers, and a Colombian 110-carat emerald pendant carved with a flower motif — all once part of the emperor’s throne. There is so much to see, some paintings — also called Mughal Miniatures (2) — nearly got overlooked!
Language and Cross-Cultural Influences
Most of the 100 million people (Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Zoroastrians, and Christians) governed by the Mughals did not share the religion, ancestry, or language of the rulers. To unite a multilingual empire, language became a key tool. The Mughals decided to continue with the language already (3) in use, namely, Persian. By promoting it and employing Persian-proficient administrators across communities — Afghan, Rajput Hindu, Safavid, and Indian Muslim — they created a court elite (like a civil service) whose identity was defined not by ethnic or religious origin, but by a shared language and culture. Although the Mughals were not native Persian speakers (4) they could see the value of using it as a common link language.
While it became the language of every imperial decree and land revenue record, Persian also developed into the language of literature and prestige. At Akbar’s Maktab Khana (translation house) in Fatehpur Sikri, major Sanskrit texts (the Mahabharata and Ramayana) were translated by scholars into Persian, signaling respect for Hindu heritage and philosophical traditions. Trade in products, ideas, and people brought an abundance of influences. The multiethnic court thrived with cross-cultural collaboration that welcomed Hindu and Muslim artists, Iranian painters, calligraphers, and architects using skills, imagery, techniques, and materials from around the world.
Watercolors of court scenes are displayed alongside delicate textiles, brilliantly colored carpets, canopies, and fine objects made of rock crystal, jade, and precious metals. Of note is the hybrid art created in court workshops by Iranian and Hindustani artists and craftsmen and the influence of European art brought by Christian missionaries as well as the impact on Mughal painting of Christian iconography, including figures of Jesus and Mary painted by local Hindu and Muslim artists.
Religious Tolerance & Complexity
The three emperors embraced religious complexity and did not expect the Hindu population to convert to Islam. They were attracted to Hindu mystics. Akbar admired the songs of Rajput princess Meerabai of Chittor, a central figure in the Hindu Bhakti movement. The success of Mughal rule depended on how well the rulers managed relations with non-Muslim subjects. After subduing Rajput tribes, Akbar guaranteed their right to public prayer, permission to construct temples, and commissioned art that focused on respect for all faiths.
In A Muslim Pilgrim Learns a Lesson in Piety from a Brahman (5), a painting that blends Persian composition, Hindu imagery, and European Renaissance techniques (see below pic, description), a pilgrim walks through an Indian landscape where he encounters a Hindu ascetic in the road and learns a lesson in humility. Considered a meditation on religious pluralism, the painting demonstrates that spiritual commitment can be appreciated across different faiths.
The Mughals were also attracted to the mystic Islamic Sufi movement represented here (pics below) by Sufi-inscribed tiles from a Lahore mosque and a dervish’s horn for collecting alms and drinking wine. Painters illustrated the words of celebrated Sufi poets Hafez and Rumi by transforming their metaphors and bringing their parables to life.
Religious tolerance — the norm under Akbar — shifted gradually from active pluralism (6) to a more traditional, orthodox Islamic state policy while maintaining overall administrative acceptance. Each emperor balanced personal beliefs with the practical need to govern a vast, multi-religious population. While freedom of worship remained intact, Jahangir did act harshly against specific political or religious figures (7), when his throne or authority were challenged.
Akbar’s Affinity for Art
Crowned in 1556 at age 13, Akbar transformed the empire during his half-century reign, integrating military might with a love of art and culture that his successors would share. The court painting style begun in his time, combines closely observed reality with fantasy.
He commissioned the Hamza-Nama (Book of Hamza) in the 1570s, one of the earliest examples of Mughal painting, chronicling the exploits of Muslim hero Hamza and his followers as they battle demons and giants (see pic). Unlike small Mughal miniatures, these large paintings on cotton cloth feature the giant fleeing mid-air, capturing the epic’s magical warfare. (Austria’s MAK Vienna, which provided this piece,
holds the largest single collection of surviving Hamza-Nama works).
The focus on artisans, Karkhanas (ateliers, workshops) and Kitab Khanas (libraries) — is all the more notable given that Akbar could neither read nor write despite being a keen patron of learning. A superb selection of 16th-century manuscript folios from the Qu’ran, Akbar-Nama, and Ramayana line the walls, accompanied by framed texts and calligraphy.
Funded by the imperial treasury, the workshops were staffed by skilled artists and craftsmen from across the empire, merging their different expertise and methods into a single distinctive Mughal style. The Tasvir Khana (painting workshop) employed more than 200 painters, the majority of whom were Hindu, with Muslim, Persian, and Central Asian masters working alongside them. Other karkhanas produced textiles, books, jewelry, gold and silverware, perfumes, and carpets.
To help him rule a diverse multi-ethnic empire, Akbar commissioned artworks connecting his Muslim Central Asian origin to local Hindu traditions. A manuscript of the Persian translation of the Ramayana, the ancient Hindu epic, was produced during his reign, with a seal indicating that it had once been kept in his mother’s library.
To strengthen alliances with local Hindu rulers, Akbar married a Rajput princess as did his son Jahangir and grandson Shah Jahan. Both Jahangir and Shah Jahan had Hindu mothers, representing the fusion of regional Indian and broader Islamic court cultures. The administrative machinery relied heavily on Hindu nobles, generals, and advisers in a hierarchical system known as mansabdari that combined military command and civil administration in a single bureaucracy.
Jahangir’s Court Dazzles!
Inheriting a wealthy and stable kingdom, Jahangir continued his father’s statecraft by expanding multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism and encouraging his artists to innovate and refine. Like Akbar, he ran a diverse court that mixed Persian, Indian, European, and Central Asian traditions, welcomed many religions, supported the arts, and opened up high-ranking roles in government to Hindus and other non-Muslims.
His court was famed for its opulence. According to explanatory notes, “the dazzling appearance of the court inspired England’s ambassador Sir Thomas Roe, to describe it in a 1616 letter to the future King Charles I as ‘the treasury of the world.’”
Collaboration with European artists is evident in a painting of Jahangir on a throne by a French goldsmith from Bordeaux. There are botanical engravings by Flemish artisans and examples of how the Mughals adapted them. Relations with China are featured by a white, blue, and imperial yellow porcelain collection, and with Safavids and Armenians by objects of copper and bronze. Portuguese merchants are shown visiting the court and, oddly, speaking with angels as artists try to understand their Christian religion! Remarkably, a Mughal round shield covered in mother-of-pearl — which entered Medici family collections in the 1590s — is on display, a loan from the Bargello Museum in Florence.
Jahangir revolutionized the royal workshop, championing realism in painting. He had renowned naturalist and court artist, Ustad Mansur, document exotic flora and fauna with precise scientific accuracy. His candid personal memoirs contain botanical notes in addition to other musings. He was obsessed with wine culture and commissioned nephrite jade wine cups and bowls engraved with Persian verses and calligraphy by master craftsman Sa'ida-ye Gilani.
Despite religious restrictions against alcohol, Jahangir is shown in paintings and engraved coins with a wine cup in hand. Royal atelier painters were likely first-hand witnesses to his addiction which he describes in his memoirs. The wine cups on display have grapevine motifs symbolizing the regenerative power of nature, an enduring interest for the emperor. Also adorning the cups are poetic verses composed by Jahangir himself.
The allegorical painting by Bichitr (8) titled Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings (see image) celebrates the importance of the spiritual over the worldly. The emperor sits on an hourglass throne above four men showing that time and truth matter more than material power. He has a large halo combining the sun and moon and is slightly larger than the other figures creating a sense of divine status. He appears to revere the Sufi saint while ignoring the two monarchs (an Ottoman Sultan and English King James I). The last figure is of the artist, Bichitr, who includes himself to show that artists were honored at court.
We know from court records that Jahangir was delighted at the artist’s rendering of A Turkey Cock (image below) by Ustad Mansur. The bird was a gift from the Portuguese Viceroy in Goa. Native to the Americas, turkeys were previously unknown in India, making it an exotic and fascinating subject for the emperor. A trumpeting elephant was an everyday sight for the Mughals, not so much a gobbling turkey!
Shah Jahan’s Paradisal Garden
Under Shah Jahan, the empire’s territories were expanded and its wealth increased. He had a passion for building, including, the Red Fort (Lal Qila), the Jama Masjid or Friday Mosque, Shahjahanabad, the historic walled city in Old Delhi, the Chashme Shahi or royal spring garden in Srinagar, and his best known work, the Taj Mahal.
His reign is celebrated as the golden age of Indo-Islamic architecture and is marked by the use of white marble, strict symmetry, delicate gemstone inlay, and formal gardens. He merged Persian structural ideas (large domes, soaring minarets, arches) with indigenous Indian craftsmanship (geometric carvings, pillar designs, traditional motifs) by local Hindu stonemasons, thereby creating a unified architectural style. Intricate stone-carved lattice screens (jalis) filtered light while umbrella-like pillared pavilions (chattris) added distinct regional silhouettes to Islamic tombs and palaces.
Under Shah Jahan, floral motifs and arabesques used in the Taj Mahal replaced traditional Mughal patterns. They were woven on textiles, painted on manuscripts, enameled on objets d’art, and carved in stone, evoking an ideal world free of death and disease, and projecting an image of the Emperor as a just monarch who ruled over a paradisal garden described by 13th-century Sufi poet Amir Khusrau: “If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this.” (In Persian: “Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast, hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast”).
The couplet is famously inscribed in gold calligraphy on the walls of the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) at the Red Fort in Delhi. It is also displayed prominently in the Shah Jahan/Taj Mahal section of the exhibition. Accompanied by a short video clip of the Taj, architectural components are showcased to demonstrate construction designs used at the time, including inlaid marble, painted tiles, and a pierced marble screen mounted on a gallery wall.
At the peak of Shah Jahan’s reign, the concept of the cultivated paradisal garden — a symmetrical walled-in Persian garden with water channels, flowers, and fruit trees that served as a pairidaeza or heaven on earth — had evolved into a metaphor for peace under imperial rule. Khusrau’s verses speak not only to the decadence that defined the artistic tastes of a wealthy court, but also, perhaps, to the moment of religious and cultural pluralism cultivated by the Mughal rulers featured here — long before European colonization and the divisions it wrought.
Textbooks, Sourcing, Provenance
Given the present day scaling back and erasure of medieval history (specifically, the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods) in Indian school textbooks and the constant vilification of the country’s former Muslim rulers as being foreign-born evil-doers who destroyed temples and persecuted Hindus, forcing them to convert to Islam (9), it is disappointing — but unsurprising — that this exhibition will not be seen in India. (Interestingly, one of the reasons given for curriculum changes in India and the skipping of five-plus centuries of Muslim rule, was to lessen the burden on school kids! Not a joke!)
Enquiries reveal that the absence of an Indian stop on the tour itinerary is due to logistical and financial constraints, not politics! Mega-exhibitions cost millions to insure, transport, and secure; international tours go where host institutions can guarantee funding, high ticket sales, and corporate sponsorships. While it may seem counterintuitive for a show about India to skip India, bringing a collection of Indian art to India would be a coals-to-Newcastle type of situation: viz., India already possesses unparalleled collections of Mughal art!
It is also strange that none of the outstanding objects on display come from South Asia whose museums have massive permanent collections of Mughal art, jewelry, and manuscripts — a surfeit, as I recall — so why were they not asked? Note that with the exception of relatively new Middle Eastern collections from Kuwait and Qatar, nearly all the exhibits here have been sourced from European and American institutions!
The exhibition was designed to bring rare and priceless pieces out of the deep archives of the V&A, one of the most significant South Asian art collections outside India, largely acquired during the colonial era. If more items were needed, curators could turn to other prominent collections they already had pre-existing loan agreements with, such as, the al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait or museums in the U.S. Adding loans from South Asian museums would make a temporary tour logistically tougher as loans require separate government permits, complex indemnity agreements, and strict return timelines.
Suffice it to say that, while the exhibition reflects a curated selection of what is held in international collections, the absolute pinnacle of Mughal heritage is permanently housed in institutions like the National Museum in Delhi where the public can view it every day without relying on an international show. (And, while I agree with that in principle, the attractions of a traveling show like this one are not dismissed so easily!)
What is surprising though is the failure to address inevitable queries about the provenance of objects that arise from the history of colonial and post-colonial looting and theft! Although American museums (as opposed to British) have done a somewhat better job of identifying and returning stolen art, they continue to hide behind the fig leaf that much of their questionable pieces were acquired before the signing of treaties like the 1970 UNESCO Convention on Cultural Property, and that standard repatriation frameworks do not apply to them!
Note that art repatriation is usually government-to-government and —while India has actively sought the return of high-profile items like the Koh-i-Noor diamond and Peacock Throne (10), both ironically of Mughal origin, it has not yet — given the controversial purging of Muslim rule from history textbooks — demanded the return of, say, the folio page described above, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings!
Such quibbles (legit though they may be) do not detract from the show which is providing thousands of visitors with a welcome opportunity to enjoy a landmark and well-organized exhibition — at leisure, and in one place! Thank you, VMFA and V&A!
Legitimacy through Art
The Mughals established their political legitimacy by using art, notably, illustrated manuscripts, as powerful visual tools to project divine right. Since much of the population was illiterate, highly stylized paintings were a universal language, reinforcing their absolute authority.
Lavishly illustrated historical chronicles — the Akbar Nama (Book of Akbar), Jahangir Nama or Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (Book of Jahangir) and Padshahnama (Book of Emperors on Shah Jahan’s rule) — were commissioned to document their reigns and portray them as undisputed sovereigns! (In this age, you would call that propaganda!)
Influenced by Sufi mysticism and European Christian art, Mughal artists painted a golden halo around the heads of emperors to symbolize divine favor. Lion and lamb motifs (see painting of Akbar below) were included to signal that Mughal rule brought justice and harmony. Expensive materials like crushed gold, silver, and lapis lazuli were used in paintings to demonstrate the limitless wealth of the imperial treasury.
Mughal workshops created a sophisticated, distinct style that established the court as the global center of refinement. Completed manuscripts were much in demand and distributed to local nobles, ambassadors, and foreign rulers as luxury items and diplomatic gifts, serving as artistic and physical reminders of Mughal supremacy.
Culture as Soft Power
By the seventeenth century, the shared aesthetic of Mughal culture had spread far beyond the country’s borders, transcending any single community.
Regional courts adopted distinct Mughal painting techniques: the famous Radha portraits from Kishangarh, for instance, had their origin in the Mughal Tasvir Khana. Iconic Rajput miniature schools (Bundi, Marwar, and Mewar) absorbed techniques and subjects from established Mughal workshops before pivoting to Hindu epic themes.
Mughal architecture transformed Rajput construction between the 15th and 18th centuries from haphazardly-structured hill forts into elegant residences with symmetrical layouts. The Amer Fort in Jaipur and City Palace in Udaipur — once purely defensive — added pavilions, formal gardens, courtyards (chowks), and floral motifs. The impact on other public and private buildings across the subcontinent was similar.
Hindustani classical music was also shaped by the Mughal court. Persian music, Indian classical forms, and Central Asian instruments combined over generations into a distinctly Mughal musical culture. Akbar’s court was home to master composer, Mian Tansen, who united indigenous Hindu and Islamic Sufi traditions. Starting with Delhi, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri, other centers sprang up after Mughal decline: Awadh, Rampur, and Kasi, giving rise to regional gharanas (stylistic schools).
The Persian vocabulary entered local languages and was used by non-Muslim courts (Sikhs and Marathas) before being replaced by English and Urdu in the 1830s. Like English today, Persian was a common medium for governance, law, and diplomacy among diverse linguistic groups. Languages like Bengali, Kashmiri, Marathi, Punjabi, and Sindhi absorbed Persian administrative, cultural, and legal vocabulary. Meanwhile, emerging from Persian, Hindustani eventually became Urdu and Hindi, the main languages of the northern subcontinent.
The most durable form of power is soft power to shape what people find meaningful. More than three centuries after Shah Jahan’s death, his greatest work, the Taj Mahal, still draws eight million visitors a year. Hindustani classical music still resonates. The development of “Hindustani” — the vernacular that emerged from centuries of Persian — is a direct result of Mughal rule and still shapes the subcontinent. These are undeniable cultural legacies that the Mughals built and will remain an intrinsic component of their soft power.
Mughal Religious Policy vs. Europe’s Sectarian Conflicts
Art and culture flourish during peace, not war, and perhaps the greatest patrimony of the three emperors was ensuring a century of lasting peace! Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan pioneered a multi-faith empire based on political pragmatism and state-sponsored coexistence. It was a novel concept for the period that had no takers in the West.
This institutional framework of religious pluralism practiced by the Mughals is a substantial legacy that contrasts sharply with Europe's violent enforcement of the rigid principle (which originated in the Holy Roman Empire) of cuius regio, eius religio (“whose realm, his religion”), where the ruler of each region decided what religion would prevail), resulting in mass evictions and execution of minorities.
During the 15th and 16th centuries (while the Mughals reigned), Europe experienced industrial-scale civil wars and carnage that killed millions. France suffered through the catastrophic Guerre de Religion (Wars of Religion, 1562-1598), including the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (1572) under Catherine de Medici when Catholic mobs slaughtered Huguenots. In Central Europe, battles between the Holy Roman Empire and Calvinists during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) caused whole scale death and destruction. In England, Elizabeth I executed Catholics under treason laws, while — across Europe — Jews faced persecution and expulsion by monarchs and city councils (Augsburg, Cologne, Naples, Nuremberg, Portugal, Provence, Spain) driving mass Jewish migration to the Ottoman Empire and Poland-Lithuania.
Notes
(1) The Ottoman Empire was a powerful Islamic state founded around 1299 by Turkic leader Osman I. At its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, it spanned parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa but came to an end after World War I. In 1923, it was replaced by modern Turkey.
The Safavid Empire (1501–1736) was a major Iranian dynasty that ruled over modern-day Iran, Azerbaijan, and parts of Iraq, Turkey, and Afghanistan. Founded by Shah Ismail I, it established Twelver Shi'a Islam as the official state religion, shaping the cultural and religious identity of modern-day Iran.
(2) Mughal Miniatures were paintings created on handmade paper using opaque watercolor pigments made from minerals and plants. They were highly intricate artwork kept in folios or albums (muraqqa) and also used as manuscript illustrations. “Miniature” describes their small size and attention to detail. Favorite themes included daily court life, hunting and battle scenes, and flora and fauna. Artists used precious stones and real gold and silver to enhance the beauty of their work as well as Islamic calligraphy and Persian verses.
(3) More than 300 years of Muslim rule preceded the Mughals in the form of the Turko-Afghan Delhi Sultanate, 1206 to 1526. The exhibition’s organizers do not clarify that — prior to the Mughals — Persian was already the language of court and of the administration.
(4) Of Timurid and Turko-Mongol descent, the Mughals were ethnically and culturally Chagatai Turk, not native Persian speakers! The empire’s founder, Babur, wrote his autobiography, the Baburnama, in Chagatai Turkic and was also fluent in Persian. His son Humayun spoke Chagatai. By the time of the third emperor, Akbar, Persian was firmly established as the official state language, although the emperors and their households also spoke Turkic and (increasingly), Hindustani!
(5) Created for Akbar’s workshop, the painting A Muslim Pilgrim Learns a Lesson in Piety from a Brahman (image below), is based on a manuscript page from the Khamsa (Quintet) by poet Amir Khusrau and depicts a Muslim haji (see turban, blue robe, staff) heading toward Mecca. On the road, he encounters a Hindu on his way to a temple, lying flat on the earth and inching forward by prostrating himself. Impressed by the intensity of such physical and spiritual devotion, the Muslim traveler removes his shoes and continues barefoot to Mecca.
(6) Influenced by Sufism and the Bhakti movement, Akbar valued rational thought over religious orthodoxy. He adopted sui kul or sul-i-kul (universal peace) as his core philosophy to promote harmony among diverse groups. By ending the Jizya Tax (historically levied by Muslim states on non-Muslim citizens) and employing Hindus in high-ranking jobs at court, he sought to secure their loyalty while also diminishing the power of rigid Islamic clerics. He built the Ibadat Khana (House of Worship) in Fatehpur Sikri to host debates between Christian, Hindu, Jain, Muslim, and Zoroastrian theologians and philosophers, later promoting a moral code known as Din-i-Ilahi (Divine Faith).
(7) Known for his liberal views and engaging in theological debates with Jesuit, Jain, and Hindu scholars, Jahangir took the unprecedented step in 1606 of executing Sikh Guru Arjan Dev whose call for universal equality challenged the fanaticism of Islamic clerics of the extremist Naqshbandi sect, the caste system of orthodox Hindu priests, and the emperor himself who was fighting a rebellion by his son, Prince Khusrau — who had received support from the Sikh Guru.
Aurangzeb, the son of Shah Jahan and grandson of Jahangir, abandoned the Mughal policy of religious tolerance altogether by imposing Sharia law (Islamic law) and reimposing a punitive tax on Hindus. According to independent scholars, however, Aurangzeb has been “villainized” by the current BJP administration in India to legitimize their own majoritarian politics, demonize all Muslim rulers, and position modern Indian Muslims as inheritors of alleged historical wrongs.
(8) Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings has a complicated history! It was one of many stolen in 1739 by Persian ruler Nadir Shah who ransacked Delhi, plundered the Mughal library, and brought loose paintings back to Iran. When the Persian Qajar dynasty declined (late 19th/early 20th century), the paintings were taken from the Royal Library in Teheran and sold to the Russian Imperial collection of Tsar Nicholas II. While most of the 98 surviving folios remain in St. Petersburg, several pages, including this one, were sold again on the global art market in the early 20th century and are now with institutions like the National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, D.C. but retain the "St. Petersburg" name to identify their historical origin.
On the other hand, the provenance of A Prince, Perhaps Parviz, with a Female Companion and Attendants (see first image below), is less convoluted; it traces from a private collection through Sotheby’s London (2023) before acquisition by the VMFA.
(9) A Frontline article had an interesting riposte on the subject of forced conversions: “India seems to be the only country where despite five centuries of Muslim rule the populace did not convert to the religion of the rulers” and “if systematic religious persecution or forced conversion had been the primary goal… the demographic fabric would look vastly different!” (According to the 2011 Census, Hindus are 79.8 percent and Muslims are 14.2 percent of the total population).
(10) Mined in India’s southern Golconda region, the Koh-i-Noor (Mountain of Light) diamond, once mounted on the Peacock Throne, was seized by invading Persian looter Nadir Shah in 1739. When Shah was killed by his guards, the diamond was taken by Afghanistan’s Durrani dynasty before being surrendered in 1813 back to India by Shah Shuja to Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After the British defeat of the Sikh Empire, the East India Company forced the young Maharaja Duleep Singh to sign the Treaty of Lahore in 1849 which officially surrendered the diamond to Queen Victoria (along with the Timur Ruby). Since then, it has been in the Tower of London as part of the British Crown Jewels. The governments of Afghanistan, India, Iran, and Pakistan have all claimed ownership to no avail. Britain insists the gem was obtained legally! As historian William Dalrymple succinctly puts it, “all the pain that South Asia feels about colonialism“ has been “projected on to this one little stone, sitting in a glass cabinet in London!”
The Peacock Throne (inspired by the Biblical throne of Solomon) was built for Shah Jahan and inaugurated in 1635 at the Diwan-i-Khas, Red Fort in Delhi. Made of gold and precious stones — including the famous Koh-i-Noor and other diamonds (like the Akbar Shah) by goldsmith Bebadal Shah — it was named for the two jewel-studded peacocks above its canopy. Even by Golden Age Mughal standards, it was extravagant, costing twice as much as construction of the Taj Mahal! It was seized by Nadir Shah during his 1739 pillaging of Delhi, taken to Persia, and disappeared after his death. The gold framework was melted down and hundreds of gems sold off or lost to history but many others (such as the Koh-i-Noor’s sister stone, the Darya-i-Noor or Sea of Light) are now in Iran’s National Museum collection.
The theft of jewels is not even that egregious! After the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, many precious Mughal artifacts were blatantly “acquired” by marauding English soldiers and East India Company men. For instance, the nephrite jade Wine Cup of Shah Jahan (with the ram’s head and paisley gourd shape, image below), was pilfered (among other treasures) from the Red Fort, shipped to England, changed hands several times, and — ended up at/legitimized by — the V&A!
Ludi Joseph
Richmond, VA
August 20, 2026
Images from exhibit
Info on exhibition:
https://www.vmfa.museum/exhibitions/india-s-great-mughals-art-power-and-opulence
History Textbooks: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/14/mughals-rss-evolution-outrage-as-india-edits-school-textbooks
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| A Prince, Perhaps Parviz, with a Female Companion and Attendants, VMFA |
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A Muslim Pilgrim Learns a Lesson in Piety from a Brahman, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC |
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| The Giant Zumurrud Shah Flees with his Army, Hamza-Nama, MAK Vienna |
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| Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings, St. Petersburg Album, National Museum of Asian Art, WDC |
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| Turkey Cock by Ustad Mansur, V&A |
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| Akbar Being Entertained by His Foster Brother Azim Khan at Dibalpur by Jagan, Sur Das, Madhav, V&A |
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| Balarama Kills Dhenukasura, from Persian translation of Harivamsha, Los Angeles County Museum of Art |
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| Jeweled Thumb Ring, al-Thani Collection, Qatar |
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| Jeweled Thumb Ring, al-Thani Collection, Qatar |
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| Pendant: Nephrite Jade, Rubies, Emeralds, Gold, V&A |
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| Huqqa Base, Glass, Gold Paint, VMFA |
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| Jeweled Scabbard, Gold, Rubies, Diamonds, Emeralds, Ivory, Agate, al-Sabah, Kuwait |
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| Sufi-inspired Tiles from Lahore Mosque |
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| Sufi Dervish Horn for Wine, Alms, Iran-Zamin Collection |
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| Casket, Gujarat. Teak, Mother-of-Pearl, Lac, Brass, V&A |
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| Water Chute, Marble, al-Sabah |
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| Floor Spread with Poppy Design, Cotton, dyes, Burhanpur, V&A |
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| Carpet, Cotton Warp, Cotton & Silk Weft, Wool Pile, al-Sabah, Kuwait |
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| The Virgin of the Apocalypse, V&A |
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| Descent from the Cross,National Museum of Asian Art, WDC |
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| Spinel 249.3 carats carved with names of 6 rulers, Sapphire Bead 106.6 carats, Drilled, Diamond Pendant 56.7 carats, al-Sabah, Kuwait |
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| Colombian Emeralds, al-Sabah, Kuwait |
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| Embroidered Wall Hanging, Cotton, Silk Embroidery, V&A |
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| Jali (Screen), Marble, Agra, V&A |
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| Balustrades from a Palace, Agra, Marble, al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait |
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| Box and Cover, Jade, Silver. V&A |
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| Priming Flask, Jade, Enamel to dispense Gunpowder for Matchlock Gun, V&A |
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| Punch Dagger, Hilt Gold Enamel, Blade Steel, al-Sabah, Kuwait |
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| Ring to support Huqqa, Gold Enamel, al-Sabah, Kuwait |
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| Sa’ida-ye-Gilani, Wine Cup of Jahangir, Nephrite Jade, Engraved with Persian Verses & Calligraphy, V&A |
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| Wine Cup, Jahangir, Rock Crystal, Rubies, Emeralds, Gold Kundan, al-Sabah |
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| Wine Cup of Shah Jahan, Nephrite Jade, Gourd- Shaped, Goat Head, Lotus Pedestal, V&A |
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| Ablution Vessel (or Lota), Calligraphic Verses on Exterior, Qu’ranic on Interior, Jahangir, V&A |
