The Laud Ragamala Album, Bikaner, and the Sociability of Subimperial Painting is a tale of two present-day “Indiana Joneses”art historian Professor Molly Emma Aitken and Connoisseur Shanane Davis who made an extraordinary discovery regarding the most famous Indian muraqqa (album book with miniature paintings and calligraphy) found in a European collection.
In 1639, The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, or now believed could have been the English courtier, diplomat, and state-sponsored pirate, Sir Kenelem Digby, gave a muraqqa composed of poetry and paintings from early 17th Century India to the new Bodleian Library (one of the oldest libraries now in Europe patronized by Sir Thomas Bodley and opened to scholars in 1602).
The extraordinary Laud Ragamala became a holy grail of sorts for India art history studies.
A fascinating tale of intrigue, war, politics and material culture patronage surrounds its creation and its mystique.
You can read this article online or order your own copy, its a magical read and anyone interested, or has pride in India and art will find it fascinating.
https://www.development.ox.ac.uk/bodleian-conservation#gallery-5
