Raja Udai Singh of Chamba with a Courier and Attendants
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.The portly raja wears the distinctive robes of the hills, a tailored white woolen coat known locally as a chola. Before him stands a courtier offering the paan box (for betel leaves), and behind him are two attendants, one holding his sword and waving a peacock-feather fan and the other proffering the hookah base from which the raja smokes, all signifiers of royal rank. The sharply defined profile, with a large almond-shaped eye disconcertingly gazing upward, is an idiosyncrasy of the Chamba style, but the highly individualized characterization—along with comparison to a portrait of Udai Singh of Chamba (r. 1690–1720) now in the National Museum, New Delhi—suggests that this portrait shows the same ruler in his advanced years.
Artwork Details
- Title: Raja Udai Singh of Chamba with a Courier and Attendants
- Date: ca. 1710
- Culture: India, Himachal Pradesh, Chamba
- Medium: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 7 5/8 × 9 in. (19.4 × 22.9 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: The Howard Hodgkin Collection, on loan from the Howard Hodgkin Indian Collection Trust
- Object Number: L.2022.30.25
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
Content Notice
The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.