For the rulers of India, whether Hindu or Muslim, tents had an importance far beyond the practical: they were direct expressions of status, in terms of height, size, colour and richness of decoration. In a way that is hard for us to imagine today, they were a genre of applied art in themselves, with a specific symbolism. Although HUGE quantities of tentage must have been created, the climate and insect life of India have destroyed much of this perishable ...
