Current Exhibitions

Taking a cue from Shah Jahan’s court chronicler Abdul Hamid Lahori who spoke of the ‘mute eloquence’ of what he called the ‘Rauza-i Munawwara’, The Mute Eloquence of the Taj Mahal explores the ways in which the tomb’s design and details speak of the beliefs, aspirations and condition of Shah Jahan and his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. The exhibition does so, among other ways, through the language of selected quotations from the Holy Quran (the strategically placed inscriptions) and through the language of flowers (the famous pietra dura decoration on the cenotaphs and screen). Curated by historian Rana Safvi and spanning the late 18th to the mid-20th century, The Mute Eloquence of the Taj Mahal brings together 200 remarkable works—including Company School paintings, works by foreign and modern Indian artists, as well as photographs and postcards, providing a comprehensive visual narrative of the Taj Mahal and its complex. These works do more than document the monument: they reflect evolving artistic interpretations of the tomb’s architecture, interiors, gardens and subsidiary monuments. Opening on Sunday, 5th July 2026 at the iconic Salar Jung museum in an institutional partnership, it will remain on view until 4 October 2026.

While Company paintings by Agra-based artists, which offer exquisitely detailed visual records of the monument’s intricate pietra dura inlay work, serve as invaluable documentary evidence preserving the monument’s ornamental details with exceptional precision and artistry, a selection of works by visiting foreign artists, ranging from the late 18th-century views of British artist Thomas Daniell to the elegant 1930s woodblock prints of Japanese master Hiroshi Yoshida and British artist Charles William Bartlett, collectively trace the evolving global fascination with the Taj Mahal revealing how it has been variously interpreted, romanticised, and reimagined across artistic traditions. In addition, works by modern Indian artists including Abanindranath Tagore, L. N. Taskar, S. Bagchi and Jyoti Bhatt offer powerful interpretations of the monument reflecting not only its enduring beauty but also its layered historical meanings and cultural significance in the context of an emerging Indian modernity. A compelling collection of photographs and postcards dating from the 1850s to the mid-20th century, charts not only the evolution of photographic techniques but also the Taj Mahal’s enduring role in shaping visual narratives of India, through the work of a diverse group of acclaimed photographers—from European war and commercial pioneers such as Felice Beato, Samuel Bourne, John Edward Saché, and Thomas Rust, to renowned Indian photographers like Lala Deen Dayal and R.R. Bharadwaj. For the first time, selections from the archive of Albert Edward Griessen, Superintendent of the Taj and Government Gardens (1902–1905), will be on public view. Now part of the DAG collection, this archive—comprising plans, photographs, correspondence, and official reports spanning 1868–1908—offers rare insights into the site.

Ashish Anand, CEO and Managing Director, notes, “Is there anything left to be said about the Taj Mahal? India’s most famous building has inspired a vast range of writing, from paeons of praise penned by court historians and enthusiastic foreign travellers to scholarly analyses and travel agents’ blurb, covering every aspect of its character and history. Artists, too, have responded with a plethora of images, from paintings, prints and photographs to tourist posters. Yet, always the Taj seems to ask for more. Against the commonly uttered remark that ‘words cannot describe it’, we feel the need to make some appropriate added response of admiration. I am confident that as will study the images assembled in the exhibition, you will share my delight in realising that a building that we might be all too ready to dismiss as a cliché has the power to surprise us still.”

“By foregrounding the tomb’s exquisitely inscribed Quranic calligraphy, celestial imagery, and paradisiacal architecture, the exhibition reveals the Taj Mahal as at once a metaphor for paradise in Islamic thought and a testament to imperial grandeur. It also traces the monument’s evolving meanings, from a sacred sepulchral space to its later transformation into a global emblem of love. Through DAG’s paintings, photographs and archival materials, and essays by a galaxy of distinguished contributors, the curation offers visitors a fresh and layered perspective on the Taj Mahal and its architectural and natural settings”, shares curator Rana Safvi.

Ms. Priyanka Mary Francis (IAS), Director of the Salar Jung Museum shared that ‘On the occasion of the 75th year of formation of this significant museum in Hyderabad, Salar Jung Museum is poised to forge important partnerships with other iconic institutions of the country to bring the best of art and scholarship for the people of Hyderabad. This exhibition is a beginning in that direction and we hope to enrich our audiences through similar endeavours throughout the year and beyond. We invite everyone from the city to join in celebrating some of the best and most evocative works of art India has produced in the last centuries all in honour of one of the most important world monuments, The Taj Mahal. Numerous educational programmes, walkthroughs and lectures will accompany the show which will remain for 3 months.’

The exhibition offers a compelling reappraisal of the Taj Mahal—not as a static symbol, but as a dynamic cultural artifact shaped by religious meaning, imperial ambition, artistic practice, and colonial reinterpretation. The Mute Eloquence of the Taj Mahal invites viewers and readers to listen anew to what this marble monument has long conveyed in silence: a deeply layered narrative of devotion, power and collective memory. Through this exhibition, we hope to demonstrate that even a monument so often reduced to cliché retains the power to surprise us still.