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MAHARANA ARI SINGH OF MEWAR SEATED ON A SWING
Anonymous Mewar Artist
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 and 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 and dye) lehnga-cholis and odhnis. This painting gives a glimpse into the intimate and private world of the zenana.
India, Mewar. Circa 1760-1770
Image 34.5 x 28 cm
Folio 49.5 x 32.8 cm
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.
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