Maharaja Raj Singh in a Garden Arcade
This highly personal portrait of Raj Singh of Sawar (r. 1705–30) shows him in full profile, as if he is presenting himself at a palace balcony window (jharoka) for a public audience. Here, however, the arched terrace at which he sits resplendently is set in a private garden overlooking a grassy landscape populated only by waterfowl. In this private inner world, Raj Singh holds a flower bud in his raised hand, an allusion to his aesthetic accomplishments. He is attended by two women, one holding a tray with slender glass bottles of rosewater and the other waving a fan of peacock feathers. The arcade is painted with floral designs in the style of Mughal pietra dura (hardstone inlay), and a Mughal-style carpet is draped over the terrace balustrade, adding a richness to the portrait.
Artwork Details
- Title: Maharaja Raj Singh in a Garden Arcade
- Date: ca. 1710–15
- Culture: India, Rajasthan, Sawar
- Medium: Opaque watercolor, gold and silver on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 11 7/16 × 15 7/16 in. (29 × 39.2 cm)
Framed: 14 3/8 × 20 5/8 × 3/4 in. (36.5 × 52.4 × 1.9 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, by exchange, 2022
- Object Number: 2022.219
- Rights and Reproduction: Image © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Stipple Master
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ca. 1712
India (Rajasthan, Bikaner)
ca. 1725
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ca. 1630–40
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