"Deshakar Ragini: A Prince Looking in a Mirror Tying His Turban," Folio from the dispersed "Chawand" Ragamala (Garland of Melodies)

A prince is seated on a bed in an open chamber decorated with a small table and a caged
bird. He is attended by two handmaidens. The prince is gazing into an oval mirror, held by one
maid, as he ties several strands of his atpati turban. The prince’s starched, white muslin
chakdar jama (four­pointed coat) is the very height of aristocratic fashion.
The ‘Chawand Ragamala’ Series, to which this painting once belonged, is named for the
hill­locked village in southern Mewar where the Series was made, and where the native rulers of
Mewar retreated to make their ineffective stand against the invading Mughals. About 27
illustrated folios from this famous Series have survived. (1) All of them were once in the
collection of Gopi Krishna Kanoria of Calcutta. But they were widely dispersed in the 1950’s
and 1960’s, and are now found in collections throughout the world. The 42nd and final painting
in the Series bears a colophon date of 1605 and the artist’s name, Nasiruddin. Paintings in the
Series are thought to be both a “final expression of the Early Rajput style” (see cat. nos. 1­4)
and the forerunner of new developments in Rajasthani painting of a somewhat later date. (2)
For ragamala painting, see cat. no. 7. For somewhat later Mewar painting see cat. no. 28.
The artist Nasiruddin was not a very refined stylist, but his rhythmical drawing, powerful
compositions, and bold color combinations have an assured strength and charm. “He shows a
forthright, even summary command of a familiar received style; many of the same conventions
5. SK.005
would reappear, under greater Mughal influence, in manuscript painting at Udaipur a
generation later.” (3)
(1) For a list of the surviving pages from the ’ Chawand Ragamala’ Series, see Andrew
Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur (Zürich: Artibus Asiae Publishers, 2002), pg. 45, note 1.
(2) ibid, pg. 44
(3) ibid, pg. 21. For the artist Nasiruddin, see also John Guy and Jorrit Britschgi, Wonder
of the Age (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012), pp. 98­100.

Inscription: Inscribed on the front in black ink written in devanagari script: “Desaka¯ra’s confidante helps tie the sarpech; another young woman stands nearby; a bird there (in a cage) sings”;
and a label in black in written in devanagari script: “desakararagini”

Dick Benedick, Spink and Son ca. 1975?

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Divine Pleasures: Painting from India's Rajput Courts—The Kronos Collections," June 13–September 11, 2016.