217. Zebras and Zodiacs: Jahangir’s Art Revolution

Empire

Jack Davenport

History

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Often overshadowed by his son’s architectural wonders like the Taj Mahal, Emperor Jahangir was a true connoisseur of beauty. His reign witnessed a flourishing of art, architecture, and craftsmanship through his patronage of impressive workshops of artists who created vibrant masterpieces. Jahangir continued expressing his love of the natural world through the paintings he commissioned: from zebras to squirrels to exotic birds. And women were not excluded from his world of art. His powerful wife Nur Jahan oversaw architectural projects like the “Baby Taj”, and female painters at court documented the intimate life of the imperial harem. But beyond documenting the world around him, how did Jahangir use art as propaganda, and what is the meaning behind the mysterious zodiac coins he created? Listen as William and Anita are joined by Susan Stronge, curator of the V&A exhibition, The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence, to discuss the visual culture of the court of Jahangir. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis & Aaliyah Akude Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you want access to bonus episodes reading lists for every series of Empire, a chat community.
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0:19.7	What kind of weekend are you in the mood for?
0:22.6	Well, with Disney Plus, anything is possible.
0:25.6	Whether that be two days of twists and turns with only murders in the building,
0:30.2	drama and fine dining with The Bear,
0:32.7	or a journey back to feudal Japan with Shogun.
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0:44.7	hello and welcome to Empire with me Anita Arnhann and me, William Durimple.
1:02.2	And today we are joined by one of my great heroes and mentors and woman who is the toast of Artistic London at the moment, Sue Strong, the curator
1:13.8	of the fabulous show, The Great Mughals, Art, Architecture and Opulence at the VNA.
1:21.8	And we're very grateful to Sue, not only for coming on today, but for giving us the peg
1:25.7	to hang this entire series on, which is something
1:29.6	I've been longing to do ever since we started Empire. And Sue has given us the excuse for a fully,
1:35.2	completely indulgent, in-depth, mogul extravaganza. So welcome Sue. Thank you. I think that's the
1:42.0	best introduction I've ever had. Thank you. I'll tell you what, it's been cooking in him for such a long time. He does. Thank you. I think that's the best introduction I've ever had. Thank you.
1:45.0	I'll tell you what, it's been cooking in him for such a long time. He does talk about you.
1:48.5	I mean, when we're not doing the pot, he talks about you often and warmly. So thank you so much.
1:52.5	I know it's a really, really busy time. What rave reviews for your exhibition?
1:57.4	We were a little bit worried at the beginning because some of the sub-editors' headlines had comments like the debauch moguls,
	...

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