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Prince Padam Singh of Bikaner with His Bard Gordhar on a Terrace at Night

Attributed to Bhavani Das Indian
or his son Dalchand Indian
ca. 1725
Not on view
The Kishangarh school of painting emerged in the early eighteenth century, likely stimulated by a surplus of Mughal atelier-trained artists who were seeking employment at the time of the accession of Muhammad Shah in Delhi. Initially the Kishangarh court style emulated that of contemporaneous Mughal production, but under the inspired directorship of the painter Bhavani Das, who arrived at the court from Delhi in 1719, it quickly assumed a distinctive character. The early Kishangarh school flourished under Bhavani Das and his son Dalchand. This work is unsigned but such is its skill in capturing individual physiognomies and the psychological interplay between the two figures that it may confidently be assigned to either Bhavani Das or Dalchand. It is inscribed on the reverse in both Hindi and Persian, naming the two figures, and characterizing Gordhar as “a singer of good songs.” The scene is set on a palace terrace with a low white marble balustrade, overlooking a silvered lake in the afterglow of an early evening.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Prince Padam Singh of Bikaner with His Bard Gordhar on a Terrace at Night
  • Artist: Attributed to Bhavani Das
  • Artist: or his son Dalchand
  • Date: ca. 1725
  • Culture: India, Rajasthan, Kishangarh
  • Medium: Ink, gold, silver and opaque watercolor on paper
  • Dimensions: Image 8 1/8 x 11 1/8 in. (20.6 x 28.3 cm)
    Page 11 5/8 x 13 7/8 in. (29.5 x 35.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Cynthia Hazen Polsky, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.445.3
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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A Lady Singing, Bhavani Das Indian, Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, India, Rajasthan, Kishangarh
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A Lady Playing the Tanpura, Ink, opaque and transparent watercolor, and gold on paper, India (Rajasthan, Kishangarh)
A Lady Playing the Tanpura
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Maharana Sangram Singh Riding a Prize Stallion
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Mahadevi, the Great Goddess , Ink, opaque watercolor, and silver on paper, India (Rajasthan, Bikaner)

Mahadevi, the Great Goddess

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Krishna Revels with the Gopis: Page from a Dispersed Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherds), Opaque watercolor and silver on paper, India (Madhya Pradesh, Malwa)
Krishna Revels with the Gopis: Page from a Dispersed Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherds)
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