Made for Maharajas: Designs for Princely India explores the fascination among Indian royals for western luxury goods. This taste reached its peak at the height of the British Raj (18571947), when Indian rulers disarmed and politically marginalized occupied themselves increasingly with vast building projects and conspicuous consumption. This book explores the role of maharajas in this age of high spending and fashion. Based equally in the archives of firms such as Louis Vuitton, Boucheron, Chaumet and Hermes, and in palace and private collections, "Made for Maharajas" brings together original designs with surviving objects, exploring for the first time the creative dialogue between Indian princes and the skilled tradesmen who produced wonders for their delectation. Mutual influence in taste forms a central theme of the volume. While maharajas nurtured a fascination for all things western, they themselves inspired in Europe a renewed taste for the exotic, reflected in the strong...