V&A, London
Romance, bloodshed and religious curiosity is distilled in these lovely artefacts from the mighty military reign with a love of beauty and culture

This exhibition wafts you to the paradise that Shah Jahan, fifth of the Muslim emperors of much of modern India and Pakistan, wanted to create on Earth. A floor-covering decorated with red poppies sets the scene for this idyll of calmness. A rippled stone panel with myriad water spouts had me dreaming of fruit trees and pavilions while I was cooled by a stone jali screen that once filtered air through one of his buildings. These lovely objects help to fill in for his masterpiece, which for obvious reasons can’t be here: the Taj Mahal.

It is shown on a big screen above the portable delights, twinkling white in the hazy Agra sky. Shah Jahan famously built it as a mausoleum for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth in 1631; his tomb is there beside hers. It may be familiar but this piece of architectural heaven captivatingly distils the extraordinary civilisation that a warlike dynasty from Central Asia bequeathed to the world.