TEFAF Maastricht 2026, Stand 178

Gem Garden: Art of the Mughals and Maharajas 

Prahlad Bubbar is delighted to participate in the world renowned Tefaf art fair in Maastricht, 2026, returning for our fourth consecutive year. 

In 2026, we focus on the extraordinary creations born of the patronage of the Mughal Emperors and later Indian Maharajas. In this context, a ‘gem garden’ refers not to a literal garden, but to an artistic and symbolic world in which flowers, trees, and paradise landscapes were recreated through precious materials—gemstones, marble inlay, enamel, gold, silk, and embroidery. It represents the transformation of nature into luxury, and of the ephemeral garden into an eternal statement of sovereignty.

For the Mughal court, gardens were not merely decorative spaces but political and spiritual symbols. Under rulers such as Shah Jahan, the formal charbagh garden embodied the Qur’anic vision of paradise: ordered, symmetrical, abundant, and divinely sanctioned. This vision extended into architecture through pietra dura (parchin kari) inlay, most famously at the Taj Mahal. The concept of the gem garden also flourished in jewellery and regalia. Courtly ornaments—turban aigrettes, sarpeches, necklaces, and dagger hilts—were set with emeralds, rubies, and diamonds arranged as stylised flowers. The natural garden—transient, seasonal, and earthly—was translated into gold, silk, and stone, asserting timeless beauty, divine order, and imperial power. The presentation will showcase a rare selection of pieces that exemplify the sublime taste of the Mughals and Maharajas, from jewels to costumes, miniature paintings and pictorial hangings. Several works presented come with royal and noble provenance. 

Among the masterpieces in our presentation will be An Extraordinary Princely Skullcap (topi).  Lined in emerald-green silk velvet and heavily embroidered in metal thread (likely gilt silver) with floral sprays of stylised flowers and leaves, the design is accentuated by hundreds of gemstone beads threaded onto leaves and flower petals, including opaque, purple-coloured rubies—mostly round or button-shaped—turquoise beads (button-shaped and irregular), and saltwater pearls (near-round, button, and baroque).

Also to be exhibited is a group of garments from the sophisticated court culture of the Princely State. Together they articulate a distinctive sartorial language developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century—one that combined the authority of European tailoring with the fluid elegance of Indian dress, achieving a balance that was at once modern, ceremonial, and deeply attuned to local ways of inhabiting the body.  The magnificent Military Sherwani Coat is an exquisite example of this. Executed in gold metal thread zardozi embroidery on silk damask and patterned with large rose sprays, the garment draws upon the visual language of 19th century  European military uniforms while maintaining a silhouette more akin to the traditional Muslim sherwani worn by Indian rulers.

We will present An Exceptional Emerald Brooch featuring a spectacular 29.50 carat step-cut Columbian emerald, encircled by six carefully placed small step-cut emeralds and a total of 157 brilliant-cut diamonds, weighing 12.50 carat overall. Colombian emeralds of this size (20.4 x 16.4 mm), colour and saturation are extremely rare, with the added value of being an heirloom emerald dating from the seventeenth or eighteenth century.  Made by Garrard & Co. Limited, Crown Jewellers to the United Kingdom, this highly stylised, floral-inspired design is a sublime example of the legacy of the Maharajas.

A further remarkable piece to be included in the presentation will be An Exceptional Rare  Sultanate Textile with Confronted Yalis in a Lattice Design, showcasing the striking technical achievement of the now largely lost silk-weaving tradition made in India during the Sultanate period. What distinguishes this remarkable textile as being of Indian origin most clearly is the nature of the animal motifs: two highly stylised mythological creatures known as yalis (or vyalas). Their protective role lends an additional power to this highly sophisticated lampas, its dramatic colour and powerful iconography imbuing it with a potency particularly suited to a ritual or courtly context.

General admission: 14 – 19 March, 2026

Early access: 12 – 13 March, 2026

Open hours: 11 am – 7 pm

MECC Maastricht, Forum 100, 6229 GV Maastricht, The Netherlands