Maharaja: The Splendour of India's Royal Courts

Thrones, gem-encrusted weapons, a Rolls Royce... there's nothing particularly subtle about the world of the maharajas as explored in this major exhibition, which covers the period from the collapse of the Mughal empire in the early eighteenth century to the end of British rule in 1947. Extravagance aside, the show looks at the changing role and influence of the maharajas ñ politically and socially, in India and Europe ñ through their patronage of artists and designers.