Introductory description

The module will the explore the patronage of art and architecture at India's royal courts from the era of Mughal expansion to the end of British rule in the subcontinent.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Introduction: What is “Indian” art?;
From Power to Elegance: architecture of the Mughal emperors;
Painting and the Decorative Arts in the Mughal court;
Rajput painting and the representation of courtly life;
Bhava: mood and landscape in Mewar painting;
Trip to V&A;
Cultural hybridity in eighteenth-century Lucknow;
Ranjit Singh and the Patronage of Art in the Punjab;
Baroda and the institutionalisation of “fine” art;
Indian Princes and the West;

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a broad knowledge of the diversity of the regional courts of South Asia and their systems of patronage
• Demonstrate a broad knowledge of the subjects, meanings and techniques of Indian court painting from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries
• Show an understanding of the political, religious and social functions of the art and architecture produced for South Asian courts
• Present an argument, initiate and sustain group discussion through intelligent questioning and debate at an appropriate level
• Ability to undertake research and to write up the results in the form of a well-structured argument at an appropriate level
• Familiarity with essential ICT skills
• Ability to collaborate effectively with others
• Show understanding of diverse viewpoints
• Ability to find, select, organize and synthesize evidence
• Ability to formulate a sustained argument
• Think conceptually and independently at an appropriate level
• Sophisticated visual analysis
• Bibliographical skills at an appropriate level
• Critical analysis of cultural artefacts in their context

Indicative reading list

Anna Jackson and Amin Jaffer, Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts (London: V&A publications, 2009)
Dipti Khera, The Place of Many Moods: Udaipur’s Painted Lands and India’s Eighteenth Century (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2020)
Ebba Koch, Mughal Architecture: An Outline of its History and Development (Delhi: Primus Books, 2014)
J P Losty and Malini Roy, Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire (London: British Library, 2012)
Stephen Markel, India’s Fabled City: The Art of Courtly Lucknow (Los Angeles: LACMA, 2011)
Kajal Meghani, Splendours of the Subcontinent: A Prince’s Tour of India (London: Royal Collection Trust, 2017)
Vibuti Sachdev and Giles Tillotson, Building Jaipur: the Making of an Indian City (London: Reaktion Books, 2002)
Susan Stronge (ed.), The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms (London: V&A publications, 2009)
Giles Tillotson and Mrinalini Ventakeswaran, Painting and Photography at the Jaipur Court (New Delhi: Niyogi Books, 2016)

Subject specific skills

• Demonstrate a broad knowledge of the diversity of the regional courts of South Asia and their systems of patronage
• Demonstrate a broad knowledge of the subjects, meanings and techniques of Indian court painting from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries
• Show an understanding of the political, religious and social functions of the art and architecture produced for South Asian courts
• sophisticated visual analysis
• critical analysis of cultural artefacts in their context

Transferable skills

• present an argument, initiate and sustain group discussion through intelligent questioning and debate at an appropriate level
• ability to undertake research and to write up the results in the form of a well-structured argument at an appropriate level
• familiarity with essential ICT skills
• ability to collaborate effectively with others
• show understanding of diverse viewpoints
• ability to find, select, organize and synthesize evidence
• ability to formulate a sustained argument
• think conceptually and independently at an appropriate level
• bibliographical skills at an appropriate level