The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts opened a new touring exhibit in early May. ‘India’s Great Mughals: Art, Power, and Opulence’ explores cultural works from the 15th to 16th century.
About 200 objects make up the new exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
“The Mughal Court was not just a site of power, but a place of scientific inquiry, of rational thought," said exhibit curator Emily Hannam. She and the exhibit hail from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London as part of a world tour. "A place shaped by ambition, imagination and an enduring commitment to beauty.”
Inside the exhibit, you’ll be greeted by Mughal Akbar’s House of Books, featuring illustrations from the leader’s painstakingly detailed collections. According to the exhibit, Akbar couldn’t read or write but his quote “voracious appetite for knowledge” led to the creation of a workshop devoted to unprecedented levels of literary production - and designated staff to read to him from the volumes.
Other objects include chalices and other tableware made from mother of pearl taken from layers inside shells plucked from the nearby Gulf of Kutch.
Carpets are also on display - maintaining their vibrancy despite being about 400 years old. They once covered the walls and floors of palaces and mansions, featuring symmetrical floral designs - Indian carpets differentiate from their Persian counterparts thanks to pattern work that’s rooted in woven textile mass production.
Glazed earthenware tiles in gorgeous blues, burnt orange and forest greens, also about 400 years old, dot the exhibit as well.
“And all this artistic brilliance was inseparable from imperial power at a court that positioned itself right at the center of this cosmopolitan and interconnected world," Hannam said.
‘India’s Great Mughals: Art, Power, and Opulence runs at the VMFA through August 8th.
