Artwork Page for Raja Bikram Singh of Guler smoking a hookah

Details / Information for Raja Bikram Singh of Guler smoking a hookah

Raja Bikram Singh of Guler smoking a hookah

c. 1678–90

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms, Himachal Pradesh

Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Measurements
Page: 21.7 x 28.8 cm (8 9/16 x 11 5/16 in.); Image: 17.2 x 24.4 cm (6 3/4 x 9 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.89
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Raja Bikram Singh was famed for his physical strength and could break a coconut into pieces with his fingers

Description

The portrait of Raja Bikram Singh is the earliest depiction of a Guler chief and was produced in Chamba, possibly under the patronage of Raja Chattar Singh (r. 1664–90). The painting bears several features of early portraiture in Chamba—a straight Hookah pipe, striped trousers, large bolsters, and the sitting posture of the raja.
A horizontally oriented gum tempera painting depicts Raja Bikram Singh, a man with a medium skin tone, kneeling on a patterned white rug against a solid green background. He wears a gold and white tunic while smoking a long-stemmed hookah. Behind him, an attendant in a yellow robe holds a peacock feather fan. A thick orange border with Devanagari script frames the scene, featuring a large purple bolster and a sheathed sword.

Raja Bikram Singh of Guler smoking a hookah

c. 1678–90

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms, Himachal Pradesh

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