Rao Ram Chandra of Bedla on a swing

Object Details

• Artist

  Attributed to Shahji

• School/Tradition

  Mewar school

• Label

  An inscription in the upper margin in nagari identifies the subject as Rao Sri Ram Chand, ruler of the thikana of Bedla, which was part of the Mewar kingdom. On a canopied swing, the nobleman sits with his arm affectionately draped across his consorts shoulders and holding her hand. It is night, the jewelry and gold-embrodiered garments of Ramchand and his attendants gleam against the dark garden setting.

  The painting is very much in the style of Amar Singh II (r. 1698-1710) painting, with whom Rao Ramchand was intimately connected as his daughter, Maharani Dev Kunwar, had married the Mewar ruler.

• Provenance

  To 1969

  Indian Arts Palace, New Delhi [1]

  From 1969 to 2001

  Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), Beverly Hills, California, purchased from Indian Arts Palace, New Delhi in November 1969 [2]

  From 2001 to 2018

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, by inheritance from Ralph Benkaim in 2001

  From 2018

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim

  [1] Ralph Benkaim purchased the painting from Indian Arts Palace, New Delhi in November 1969, several years before Indian paintings were classified as antiquities by the Indian government, according to Ralph Benkaim’s personal records, as relayed by Catherine Glynn Benkaim.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  A Flower from Every Meadow: Indian Paintings from American Collections (April 12, 1973 to November 11, 1973)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Indian Arts Palace

  Ralph and Catherine Benkaim

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim

• Origin

  Mewar, Rajasthan state, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1740s

• Name

  Indian Arts Palace, Benkaim, Ralph and Catherine, Benkaim, Catherine Glynn

• Place

  Rajasthan state, Mewar, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, Night, Woman, Attendant

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings