mischievous mughals is a nft project with 12 unique avatars based on the mughal emperors.
Research for this project was conducted over 4 years with visits to the departments at the Museum of Fine Art (Boston) and Smithsonian Sackler Gallery (Washington D.C.). Mughal Emperors are revered for their masculinity however they emboldened their empires to behave as they so desired prior to the constrains and oppression of colonization and the emphasis of western gender norms.
The Mughals didn’t believe
in gender norms, they did as
they pleased
—
In fact,
Western Feminine clothing in 19th Century France
was all largely stolen from
Mughal Emperors
NFTs have become an increasingly popular avenue for artistic exploration. This project aims to revive, acknowledge, and appreciate the Mughal Miniature style of painting for each Mughal emperor along with signifiers and motifs to dramatize the femininity of each emperor.
The Mughals were benevolent emperors who engaged in gender-defying behavior through the lense of modern day South Asian cultural norms.
Akbar is a revered emperor and one of the cited inspirations of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister. He embodied masculinity, restraint, and control all while caring for his empire.
NFT Mughals
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NFT Mughals 〰️
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The National Museum of Asian Art
The Museum of Fine Art
Museum of Modern Art
Study the decision making behind each NFTs feature. Why is Shah Jahan wearing an earring in one and not in the other? Why are certain sideburns curled while others aren’t? How did jewelry signify important messages behind each ruler?