In 1777, Sophia Elizabeth Plowden, the wife of an East India Company official, arrived in India carrying her harpsichord, a popular European instrument of the time. What sets her apart in history is her deep engagement with the music and cultural practices of the Mughal world, particularly the performances of nautch troupes—dancers and musicians who entertained elite audiences in courts and affluent households. These women, often courtesans, were highly regarded for their mastery of classical music, dance, poetry, and movement.

During her husband’s posting in Lucknow, Plowden commissioned a collection of songs she had encountered, capturing lyrics in Persian, Urdu, classical Hindi, and Punjabi. She oversaw or prompted the transcription of this music into a Western musical notation suitable for the harpsichord. The result is the Plowden songbook, a series of 77 unbound, intricately illustrated pages, each dedicated to a single translated song. The manuscript is richly decorated with gold and silver leaf, vibrant paintings of flora, fauna, and scenes from everyday life—including depictions of kite flying, snake charming, and cross-dressing.

This songbook now takes center stage in a new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, titled *A Mughal Songbook: Art, Music and Empire*. Alongside musical manuscripts, paintings, textiles, and live harpsichord performances, the exhibit highlights the flourishing cross-cultural exchanges during a period still dominated politically by the waning Mughal emperor Shah Alam II and the expanding influence of the East India Company.

Curator Vivek Gupta, a scholar of Indo-Islamic art and architecture, explained that the exhibition aims to reveal the complexity and richness of the late Mughal cultural milieu. Gupta highlights that Indo-Islamic culture stood at the intersection of diverse traditions and that this intricacy is often simplified or obscured by political narratives and nationalism. He emphasized how British engagement with the Mughals went beyond politics to encompass deep artistic and linguistic curiosity, which figures like Plowden embodied.

One prominent relationship chronicled in the exhibition is between Plowden and Khanum Jan, a renowned nautch performer who provided vital knowledge that shaped the songbook’s content. Despite their vastly different backgrounds and social conventions—one a British colonial woman, the other a Muslim courtesan—their collaboration illustrates a rare moment of cultural exchange and mutual respect preceding the stricter social divides imposed by Victorian-era British rule.

While the exhibition celebrates this artistic fusion, it also raises questions about the legacy of cultural appropriation and colonial acquisition. Gupta acknowledges the problematic history behind many Indo-Islamic artifacts housed in British collections, while expressing a nuanced view of cultural interaction beyond simplistic colonial binaries.

The exhibit serves as a poignant reminder of a fading era. Within decades, the moral strictures of British imperialism suppressed relationships like those fostered by Plowden and condemned the nautch performers’ art. Today, the Fitzwilliam Museum’s display invites audiences to appreciate the artistic brilliance and international appeal of Mughal culture as it once was, offering insight into a complex, intertwined history that shaped global musical and artistic tastes.

*A Mughal Songbook: Art, Music and Empire* will be on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge until March 7.