Raja Jagat Singh of Kota

Object Details

• School/Tradition

  Kota school

• Inscriptions

  Inscription in nagari script on verso: si jagat singhji

• Label

  Rao Jagat Singh is represented in the fashion of Mughal portraiture standing in profile against a pale green ground. Shown with his characteristically slim-waisted body, dark complexion, droopy mustache and pensive expression, Jagat Singh wears a resplendent gold brocade coat with fur collar over a woven jama of orange, purple and gold; a mound of white flowers tops his turban. The ruler is haloed and holds flowers in each hand.

  Rao Jagat Singh (born 1644, reigned 1658-83) was the third rao of Kota. In July of 1658, when he was about fourteen, he was confirmed by Aurangzeb and given a rank of fifteen hundred/one thousand, the title of rao and other honors. He spend much of his career in the Deccan and died in battle in October 1863.

  The portrait demonstrates a stage in the development of Rajput portraiture. Rajputs adopted the genre of portraiture from the Mughal court, where they represented as courtiers. Here, Jagat Singh is represented by a Bikaner artist with a radiant nimbus and holding flowers in each hand, both are imperial motifs that appear in portraits of Shah Jahan.

• Provenance

  To 1967

  Ragni Kant, Jaipur [1]

  From 1967 to 2001

  Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), purchased from Ragni Kant, Jaipur in December 1967 [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 in Jaipur in December, 1967 several years before Indian paintings were classified as antiquities by the Indian government, according to his personal records, as relayed by Catherine Glynn Benkaim.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Ragni Kant

  Ralph and Catherine Benkaim

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim

• Origin

  Kota, 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

  1680s, 1660s

• Name

  Benkaim, Ralph and Catherine, Benkaim, Catherine Glynn, Ragni Kant

• Place

  Kota, Rajasthan state, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, Men, Portraits

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings