Maharana Ari Singh II at a moonlight gathering

Object Details

• Artist

  Bhima Ram

  Kesu Ram

• Court

  Mewar Court

• School/Tradition

  Rajput school

• Description

  Maharana Ari Singh, splendidly dressed in saffron robes and with a gold nimbus, is seen twice on the rooftop terrace of the palace at Udaipur, attending celebrations at night on the second day of the bright half of the month of Vaisakh, and entertained by dancers, musicians, and fireworks.

  The courtiers accompanying the Maharana are also dressed in saffron robes tied with gold sashes (patkas), as was the custom at the festival of Aksay Tritiya, "The Imperishable Third", held on the following day.

  Ari Singh (r. 1761-1773) is depicted proceeding with his courtiers from the rooftop terrace on the left towards a courtyard on the right, where they sit and watch two dancing girls in crimson dresses with swirling skirts accompanied by musicians. In the first instance Ari Singh is seen holding a ceremonial sword in a red velvet scabbard, while at the nautch (dance) party he enjoys the proceedings while smoking from a gold hookah held by a standing attendant to the right. As was the custom, in both appearances in the continuous narrative, Ari Singh is depicted in haughty and impassive side profile. Candles add to the illumination of the silvery moon in the sky amongst the stars.

  In the courtyard below to the centre of the palace, the presence of a pandal, used in the marriage ceremony and consisting of a canopy on poles with a diminishing stack of clay pots at each corner, suggests that a wedding is to be celebrated. Further below is a tank with silver water, and in the outer courtyard of the palace to the right a firework display is in progress, accompanied by further musicians. The varied fireworks include spinning wheels and flying rockets and the attendant setting off the display runs between each assemblage through the haze of smoke.

  The elegant composition of the painting is beautifully constructed, with the palace opening up like a box to reveal its many treasures. The bold red border, typical of Mewar paintings from Udaipur, forms a wonderful contrast with the white palace bathed in moonlight.

• Inscriptions

  5[?] naṁ. kī. 30 3/19

  number [in red ink] 3/19 price 30 rupees

  || śri rāmjī 1

  || pāno śrī māhārājādhīrāj māhārāṇājī śrī ar sīhajī rī surat

  [?] ghoḍe tīlak sudar asvār huā thakā] śrī jī sahelyā rī bāḍī

  vesāk sudī 2

  re dīn paraṇ jaṇī dīn rāte bhagtaṇ ro nac karāo jaṇī rī sabī

  ro pāno cītāre bhīme kesurām śrī hajur nījar kīdo

  pāno orī jamā saṁvat 1821 rā māgh vīd 2 bhome jamā

  Shri Ramji 1. Painting of the likeness of Shri

  Maharajadhiraj Maharanaji Shri Ari Singhji. Shriji;

  Saheliyon ri Bari, on the second day of the light half of

  Vaisakh. On the day [before] the wedding [in the] night

  the dance of the bhagtan [female performers] was

  arranged. Artist Bhima, Kesu Ram presented the painting

  of the depiction of that [event] as nazar to his Esteemed

  Highness. Placed in the storeroom in Samvat 1821, on the

  second day of the dark half of Magha [January–February].

• Label

  Mewar rulers embodied kingship by participating in daily rituals and activities. Scribes recorded these proceedings in linear narratives, while painters employed multiple perspectives to convey both sequence and spectacle. Here, artists Bhima Ram and Kesu Ram adroitly open out the palace walls to reveal the events on one moonlit evening. Far above the crackle of fireworks and the beating of drums, Maharana Ari Singh (reigned 1761-73), who is depicted twice with a golden halo, greets his assembled nobles (left) and attends a royal entertainment (right). In the central courtyard, stacks of clay pots at each corner of a canopy indicate a royal wedding is imminent.

• Provenance

  From 1960s

  British Rail Pension Fund, England, from the 1960s [1]

  To 2000

  Spink & Son Ltd., London, to 2000

  From 2000

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Spink & Son Ltd. in 2000

  Notes:

  [1] The object was brought from India to England in the 1960s, when it entered the collection of the British Rail Pension Fund (according to Curatorial Note 3, Debra Diamond, September 28, 2000, in the object record).

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur (November 19, 2022 to May 14, 2023)

  Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Spink & Son Ltd. (established 1666)

• Origin

  Udaipur, Rajasthan state, Mewar, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1760s

• Name

  Spink & Son Ltd.

• Place

  Udaipur, Rajasthan state, Mewar, India

• Topic

  Art, Night, Drums (Membranophones), Moon, Palace, Outer space, Hookah, Dancer, Rites and ceremonies, Musical instruments, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Festivals, Maharana, Music, Dance, Marriage, Fireworks, Smoking

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings