The Victoria and Albert Museum’s major exhibition, The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence, celebrates the extraordinary creativity and internationalist culture of the Golden Age of the Mughal Court (c.1560 – 1660). It spans the reigns of the most famous Mughal emperors across an empire that extended across present-day northern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Bangladesh. In this vibrant period, the skills of Hindu and Muslim craftsmen combined with those of Iranian masters in the royal workshops, producing a radically new and exquisitely beautiful style of art and design. Hear from the exhibition’s curator, Susan Stronge, who will talk us through the selection and curation of both famous and little-seen objects.

Susan Stronge is a Senior Curator in the Asian Department of the V&A. She is a specialist in the arts of the Mughal court in the late 16th and 17th century, and has published books, essays and articles on a wide range of subjects. She has curated award-winning exhibitions, lectured in the UK, Europe, North America, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan, and featured on BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time and on William Dalrymple and Anita Anand’s Empire podcast. Her books include Painting for the Mughal Emperor, Tipu’s Tigers and Made for Mughal Emperors (Roli Books/IB Tauris 2010). She is the curator of the V&A’s current major exhibition The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence (November 9 2024-May 5 2025) and the editor of the accompanying book.

Tickets are £5 per person.

Shah Jahan in his fortieth year, Mughal, about 1630, Victoria and Albert Museum