Raja of Kishangarh (?) Smoking a Huqqa (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
This late 18th-century painting from Bundi, in southeast Rajasthan, shows a stylish prince smoking a huqqa (water pipe) on an open terrace against a yellowish-green ground. The picture shows the fascination of later Bundi painters with decorative patterns and linear effects. Of principal interest to the artists are the prince’s material possessions: his jewelry, the objects of luxury at his feet, and especially the two colorful textiles that enliven the composition. The deep blue shawl embroidered with red flowers and green leaves over his raised right knee was likely imported from Kashmir; the long red roll-pillow he rests against, also ornamented with decorative patterns, resembles countless sumptuous textiles from Rajasthan. An inscription on the reverse of the panting, a later addition, identifies the sitter as the raja of Kishangarh, about 90 miles northwest of Bundi.
Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Gift of Paul Mellon
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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