A unique blend of Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles, Mughal painting reached its golden age during the reigns of the emperors Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan in the 16th and 17th centuries. This gloriously illustrated book is the first to examine the Victoria and Albert Museum's remarkable collection of Mughal paintings, one of the finest in the world. Richly detailed battle scenes, scenes of court life, and lively depictions of the hunt were commissioned by the royal courts, along with a remarkable series of portraits, studies of wildlife, and decorative borders. The authoritative text contains much new research, and the beautifully reproduced color illustrations give this stunning volume wide appeal.

Fifty leaves that form the sumptuous Kevorkian Album, one of the world's greatest assemblages of Mughal art. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

A unique style of painting developed in India during the reigns of the Mughal emperors (sixteenth-eighteenth century), which blended Indian, Persian and Islamic styles. Usually confined to book illustrations, these elegant works came to be known as Mughal miniatures. They reflect the splendour of the Mughal empire, depicting its art and architecture, from court scenes to legendary stories, in striking, vivid colours.This book reproduces some of the finest surviving examples of Mughal paintings drawn from a unique collection in the Bodleian Library, many of which have never been seen before in print. They include court paintings from the reign of Akbar to the fall of Shah Jehan (1560-1660), generally regarded as the most inspired century of Mughal painting, and images from the celebrated Bah§rist§n manuscript of 1595, which was prepared for the Emperor Akbar and illustrated by leading artists of the time.Each image is presented as a large-format colour plate on a single page with facing text describing its historical and cultural significance, while the introduction situates the works in the context of the period and its art generally.

"When a rich man in seventeenth-century South Asia enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep, he imagined himself enveloped in a velvet sleep. In the poetic imagination of the time, the fine dew of early evening was like a thin cotton cloth from Bengal, and woolen shawls of downy pashmina sent by the Mughal emperors to their trusted noblemen approximated the soft hand of the ruler on the vassal's shoulder. Textiles in seventeenth-century South Asia represented more than cloth to their makers and users. They simulated sensory experience, from natural, environmental conditions to intimate, personal touch. The Art of Cloth in Mughal India is the first art historical account of South Asian textiles from the early modern era. Author Sylvia Houghteling resurrects a truth that seventeenth-century world citizens knew, but which has been forgotten in the modern era: South Asian cloth ranked among the highest forms of art in the global hierarchy of luxury goods, and had a major impact on culture and communication. While studies abound in economic history about the global trade in Indian textiles that flourished from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, they rarely engage with the material itself and are less concerned with the artistic-and much less the literary and social-significance of the taste for cloth. This book is richly illustrated with images of textiles, garments, and paintings that are held in little-known collections and have rarely, if ever, been published. Rather than rely solely on records of European trading companies, Houghteling draws upon poetry in local languages and integrates archival research from unpublished royal Indian inventories to tell a new history of this material culture, one with a far more balanced view of its manufacture and use, as well as its purchase and trade"--

"Published to accompany a major British Library exhibition, Mughal India showcases the British Library's extensive collection of illustrated manuscripts and paintings commissioned by Mughal emperors and other officials. Depicting the splendor and vibrant color of Mughal life, the exquisitely decorated works span four centuries, from the foundation of the Mughal dynasty by Babur in the sixteenth century, through the heights of the empire and the "Great" Mughal emperors of the seventeenth century, into the decline and eventual collapse in the nineteenth century.The lavish artworks cover a variety of subject matter, from scenes of courtly life to illustrations of works of literature. The development of a Mughal style of art can be traced through the illustrations and paintings, as can the influence of European styles. Many of these works have never before been published, and combined here with the engaging narrative of two experts who place each image within its historical and art historical context, they serve to provide us with a beautiful and illuminating view of the art and culture of Mughal India.--Amazon.com.

This sumptuously illustrated volume examines the impact of Indian art and culture on Rembrandt (1606–1669) in the late 1650s. By pairing Rembrandt’s twenty-two extant drawings of Shah Jahan, Jahangir, Dara Shikoh, and other Mughal courtiers with Mughal paintings of similar compositions, the book critiques the prevailing notion that Rembrandt “brought life” to the static Mughal art. Written by scholars of both Dutch and Indian art, the essays in this volume instead demonstrate how Rembrandt’s contact with Mughal painting inspired him to draw in an entirely new, refined style on Asian paper—an approach that was shaped by the Dutch trade in Asia and prompted by the curiosity of a foreign culture. Seen in this light, Rembrandt’s engagement with India enriches our understanding of collecting in seventeenth-century Amsterdam, the Dutch global economy, and Rembrandt’s artistic self-fashioning. A close examination of the Mughal imperial workshop provides new insights into how Indian paintings came to Europe as well as how Dutch prints were incorporated into Mughal compositions.

A catalogue to accompany an exhibit held at the museum from March to July 1997. Color reproductions of 83 paintings are presented chronologically rather than in the usual separate sections on Mughal, Deccani, Rijput, and Pahari traditions. Kossak, associate curator of Asian art at the museum, offers an introductory essay. Distributed in the US by Harry N. Abrams. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR