Daughters of the Sun: Empresses, Queens and Begums of the Mughal Empire

by Ira Mukhoty

These nondescript dried balls are the indigo of commerce, used to dye the fine cotton cloth that the empire produces. There are some 300 dye-yielding plants in India, which are used by the dyers in a secret and complex technique to create fabrics and designs of such beauty, brilliance and colour that they are the envy of the world. The most popular colours are burgundy, gold, mustard and indigo while recently, a subtler palette has been created to cater to the tastes of the Persianate Mughal court. Thus pistachio green has been created using pomegranate dye while vibrant yellow is derived from the priceless saffron. Black and red are particularly valued dyes but the most expensive and sought-after colour, by far, is indigo.

These arts, where art thou?