Made for Maharajas

Dr Amin Jaffer is Senior Curator of The Al Thani Collection. For thirteen years a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum and for ten years International Director of Asian Art at Christie's, Jaffer authored Furniture from British India and Ceylon (V&A, 2001), and Luxury Goods from India (V&A, 2002). Jaffer was co-curator of the V&A's blockbuster 2004 exhibition Encounters: The meeting of Asia and Europe, 1500-1800, which explored the artistic and cultural encounter between Europe and Asia following the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and Maharaja: the Splendour of India's Royal Courts, which opened at the V&A in 2009. He has edited Beyond Extravagance: A Royal Collection of Gems and Jewels (2013), co-curated the exhibition From the Great Mughals to the Maharajas: Jewels from The Al Thani Collection at the Grand Palais, Paris (2017) and curated the exhibition Treasures of the Mughals and the Maharajas: The Al Thani Collection at the Doge's Palace, Venice (2017).

• Contents: The Royal Image;Jewels; Dress and Accessories; Royal Living; Royal Pursuits; Palaces.