India's Maharajahs: The best of both worlds

There are two prominent images of the maharajas in the popular imagination: the first, an ornately dressed, exotic, turbanned figure, clothed in rich silks and garlanded with ropes of precious gems; the second, an elegant, languid, almost foppish creature in superbly cut evening dress, sporting the finest cigarette case, glass in hand. The one may seem the antithesis of the other, but to a large degree the two conflicting images were the creation of the British, to whom the maharajas were obliged to conform. Attaining both images necessitated considerable patronage by the maharajas, first of local artisans and subsequently of European luxury houses. Maharajas: the Splendours of India’s Royal Courts, a new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, examines the fruits of this patronage.