Guest Lecturer
Dr. Katherine Kasdorf 

In 2019, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) acquired 
a richly detailed, double-sided folio that once 
belonged to an album commissioned by the 
emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58), patron of the 
Taj Mahal, toward the end of his reign. In this presentation, we 
will take a close look at the DIA folio, as well as related works, 
exploring its details, its historical and artistic contexts, and what 
it tells us about imperial Mughal art-collecting practices.

Dr. Katherine Kasdorf is Associate Curator of Arts of Asia and 
the Islamic World at the Detroit Institute of Arts. She received 
her Ph.D. in South 
Asian art history 
from Columbia 
University in 2013. 
Prior to joining 
the DIA in 2017, 
she held a Wieler-
Mellon Postdoctoral 
Curatorial Fellowship 
at the Walters 
Art Museum 
(Baltimore). She has 
published articles on 
architectural reuse 
in Hindu and Islamic 
contexts in South 
Asia, and on works 
of Tibetan art at the 
Walters Art Museum.

Complimentary 
Admission

1120 E Kearsley St, Flint
810.234.1695 flintarts.org

The Sheppy Dog Fund, Dr. Alan 
Klein, Advisor, presents topics of 
art, religion, and history through 
its funded lecture series.

An Imperial Mughal 
Album Folio

4.27.22 6:00p FIA Theater

Mughal, Indian, Portrait of a Courtier, 
Folio from the Late Shah Jahan Album 
(verso), portrait, ca. 1650, borders 
between 1650 and 1658; Opaque 
watercolor, ink, and gold on paper, 
151/4 x 10 inches. Museum Purchase, 
Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, 
2019.98.B. Detroit Institute of Arts.

Upcoming Lectures 

6.15.22 & 6.22.22 
Real Books of Magic 

7.20.22

Beautiful Death

11.9.22
The Search for the 
Lost Shapira Dead Sea 
Scroll—Was it Genuine or 
a Modern Forgery?

12.7.22
Leonardo da Vinci, the 
Last Supper, and the 
Art of Throwing a Great 
Dinner Party