The Rolls-Royce at the Maharaja exhibition

London, Oct. 8: The Victoria & Museum shop should do a roaring trade selling copies of royal Indian jewellery for as little as £25 now that the much anticipated Maharaja exhibition is due to open this Saturday for an extended run until January 17.

The preview of Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts was held yesterday, with a few members of erstwhile Indian royalty turning up to grace the occasion.

In their achkans, Gaj Singh II of Jodhpur and Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur did resemble the paintings on the museum walls but they are thoroughly modern Indians and drew the line at wearing turbans for the amusement of the English guests at last night’s preview party.

“Have I given treasures to this exhibition?” pondered Udaipur, in response to a query from The Telegraph. “Half the stuff here is mine.”

Jodhpur was not to be outdone.

“Mehrangarh Fort is here,” quipped Jodhpur, who once so fascinated an English woman journalist that she had to ask him whether his lovely, long eyelashes were real (they are, for the record).

Kapurthala and Gwalior, also represented last night, are among other royal houses that have been persuaded to make loans to the V&A.

The Patiala necklace ; Research curator Deepika Ahlawat

The two women who have done the most to put Maharaja together — Anna Jackson, deputy keeper of the V&A’s Asian department, who has curated the exhibition, and Deepika Ahlawat, research curator on the project — took turns to give journalists and other guests guided tours yesterday.

In all, there are 250 objects on display, ranging from a vintage Rolls-Royce to gem encrusted weapons, jewellery commissioned from Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, court paintings and photographs.

The Patiala necklace, part of the largest single commission Cartier has ever executed, is on show in the UK for the first time. Completed in 1928, it originally contained 2,930 diamonds and weighed almost 1,000 carats.

It was an object of utmost fascination for several Indian women who captured the image on their mobile phones, possibly to show their husbands. They also seemed much taken with the saris the maharanis wore.

There is also rare black and white film footage from the Durbars when the English rulers started behaving like the Mughal emperors of old, Ahlawat pointed out.

The V&A shop will probably draw as many Indians as the exhibition itself. There is a deco head band for £35 and limited edition draped jewel purses for £40. The V&A has published a lavishly illustrated book to coincide with the exhibition for £35.

After going round the exhibition it is easy to understand why the British were so reluctant to leave India and why the maharajas were keen for them to stay. Indians might also secretly concede the British ruled the place with a certain amount of style.