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The great age of Mughal art lasted from about 1580 to 1650 and spanned the reigns of three emperors: Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. During this time, Hindu and Muslim artists and craftsmen from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent worked with Iranian masters in the royal workshops to produce exquisite and unrivalled works ranging from paintings, illustrated manuscripts, brilliantly coloured carpets, and delicate textiles, as well as architectural pieces and vessels made of mother of pearl, rock crystal, jade, and precious metals.

The richly detailed, vibrant paintings and illustrated manuscripts, such as the Hamzanama, Akbarnama and Jahangirnama, recounted popular stories and documented court life. The pigments used in their creation were derived from mineral and organic sources.

In this film, Anita Chowdry, visual artist and long-term researcher and lecturer in the Arts of the Book and painting in the Islamic world and Indian subcontinent, demonstrates the traditional, painstaking method of creating blue pigment from lapis lazuli and green pigment from malachite stones.

00:00 Introduction to Mughal painting
00:17 Meet Anita Chowdry, pigment expert
00:37 Pounding and grinding the malachite stone in a pestle and mortar
01:11 Removing impurities via levigation – ASMR alert!
02:29 Mulling the paste to make it finer
02:52 Lapis Lazuli – the colour of kings
04:05 Adding gum arabic and honey to make paint
04:39 Mulling until it swishes – very satisfying!
05:37 Painting with the finished pigments
06:05 Burnishing the lapis lazuli pigment with an agate stone

Find out more about the arts of the Mughal Empire:

Discover more in our exhibition The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence: