Painting

Anonymous Mewar Artist

Mahanrana Ari Singh of Mewar seated on a swing

• Image 34.5 x 28 cms
  Folio 49.5 x 32.8 cms
  India, Mewar, Circa 1760

A Mewar Prince dressed in a red jama sits on a swing smoking a hookah. In this informal portrait the Prince is being entertained by the ladies of his Zenana. The composition is structured around the Jhula (swing). The zenana is enclosed, the surrounding foliage helping to ensure privacy. In the foreground women dance, while others sing & clap to the music, one lady plays the dholki. The senior ranis sit next to the prince on the swing. The women are dressed in colourful bandhani (tie & dye) lehnga-cholis and odhnis. This painting gives a glimpse into the intimate & private world of the zenana.

Compare with a similar, slightly earlier illustration of Rana Pratap Singh II seated with his queen on a swing in a garden, flanked by their attendants, see S. C. Welch, A Flower from Every Meadow: Indian Paintings from American Collections, New York, 1973, no. 9, p. 30