The Koch Donation

The Koch Donation

Dr Ebba Koch, the world’s leading expert on Mughal architecture, has transferred part of her substantial research archive to the Institute of Art History as a living bequest. As well as extensive photographic records, the collection includes important architectural surveys created during Koch's time working in India. In some cases, these surveys are the first scholarly examinations of the respective buildings. Of particular interest are the numerous plans relating to the Taj Mahal complex, which Koch devoted a seminal monograph (The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006) to, which remains the only exhaustive scholarly monograph on all aspects of the Taj Mahal. The accompanying architectural drawings were meticulously produced through measured surveys and were hand-drafted at the time with Richard Barraud's assistance, resulting in a definitive set of detailed drawings.

These exceptional materials on the Islamic art and architecture of India will be systematically digitised, catalogued and contextualised, before being made accessible to the global research community. Dr Koch, who has taught at the universities of Vienna, Oxford and Harvard, is currently working on a new publication on Mughal architecture and will gradually transfer further parts of her archive to the Department.