Prince Bakhtavar Singh of Jhilai in his youth

Object Details

• School/Tradition

  Jhilai school

• Inscriptions

  Verso: kanvarji sri bakhvatav sighji jhalaye ka javan pana ki tasbir che; [no.] 54 (in red nagari); [no.] 22

  Kanwarji Shri Bhaktavar Singh Ji Jhula Theka, Javan Pana KI Tasveer Che

  Kanwarji Shri Bhaktavar Singh Ji Jhula Theka, Javan Pana KI Tasveer Che

• Label

  Jhilai is a small and less well-known court in a thikana located between Sawai Madhopur and Uniara. Its

  distinctive style of painting, which emerged in the late eighteenth century, is likely the work of a single artist with a workshop.

  The monsoon landscape writhes with energy: scalloped clouds almost bursting with water, snaking streaks of lightening, surging hills, rhythmically dotted shrubs, jagged edged silver lakes and slashing lines that represent tall grass or patch of rain, are hallmarks of the mannered Jhilai idiom. The artist excelled in capturing the drama of a hunt during the monsoon, but was apparently less interested in the human figure. In contrast to the dramatic landscape, fleeing boars, and thrashing dogs, the aristocratic hunter is a stiff cut-out.

• Provenance

  To 2004

  Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd., New York, New York [1]

  From 2004 to 2018

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, purchased from Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd., New York, New York in November 2004 [2]

  From 2018

  Freer Gallery of Art, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim [3]

  Notes:

  [1] According to information from Catherine Glynn Benkaim.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See Acquisition Consideration Form, object file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Terence McInerney Fine Arts, Ltd. (active 1990-2013)

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim

• Origin

  Jhilai, 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

  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

  1800s, 1790s

• Name

  Benkaim, Catherine Glynn, McInerney, Terence

• Place

  Jhilai, Rajasthan state, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Prince, Art, Hunting, Animals, Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, Horses, Portraits

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings