Alternative modernity: re-imagining Asia and Africa

The Maharaja of Baroda (Western India), Sayajirao Gaekwad III (1875-1939), was an active art collector, and lender to colonial exhibitions. His collecting practices represented high artists, artisans and institutional projects, which in turn articulated ideas of a highly original, alternative modernism. This modern art project subsequently also shaped ideas of nation-building. As a research fellow at IIAS, I set about to expand our understanding of princely India’s stellar contribution to discourses of modernization and nationalism through art collecting.

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