Portrait of Maharaja Kumar Sawant Singh of Kishangarh (r. 1748-57)
1745
Description
In this portrait, Maharaja Kumar Sawant Singh, ruler of Kishangarh (r. 1748–57), stands on a white terrace amid beds of pink roses in full bloom. He was also a poet, under the pen name Nagari Das. One of his poems, titled “The Garden of Love” (ʿIshq Chaman), contains the following lines: Inhabit the garden of love, sing of the garden of love. Nagari says: Enter the beloved’s dwelling in the garden of love. Dedicated to the divine passion of Krishna for Radha, the poem is an expression of Sawant Singh’s ardent love for Bani Thani, a poet and singer. She is probably the woman gazing down at him from the top window in this painting, while her attendant holds the door ajar, reaching forward with a sprig of roses to invite Sawant Singh to enter his beloved’s dwelling in the garden of love.
Dimensions
39 x 25.7 cm (15 3/8 x 10 1/8 in.) framed: 57.47 x 43.5 x 2.22 cm (22 5/8 x 17 1/8 x 7/8 in.)
Related Artworks
View MoreInk with opaque watercolor and gold on paper
17th-18th centuryIndianOpaque watercolor on paper
18th centuryIndianInk, color, and gold on paper; leather binding
18th centuryIndianOpaque watercolor and gold on paper; Pahari Style.
18th centuryIndianOpaque watercolor and gold on paper
18th centuryIndianOpaque watercolor and gold on paper; Pahari School, Kangra Style
18th centuryIndianInk with opaque watercolor and gold on paper
17th-18th centuryIndianOpaque watercolor and gold on paper
18th centuryIndianOpaque watercolor on paper
18th centuryIndianInk with opaque watercolor and gold on paper
17th-18th centuryIndianInk, color, and gold on paper
18th centuryIndianOpaque watercolor on paper
18th centuryIndian