Away from the darbar, royal life slowed down. Painters followed their patrons into the quieter hours: a queen having her hair braided, a Maharana smoking the hookah on a terrace, princesses feeding pet birds or listening to musicians as the evening cooled. Mughal and Rajput artists painted these private moments with the same care they gave to coronations and battles.

These scenes show royalty at its most human, and that is exactly their charm. They bring an easy, unhurried elegance into a room, the kind that makes you want to slow down too.

The Slice of Life Collection brings the everyday world of India's courts home, in the Mughal and Rajput manner and in realism.