Posthumous portrait of Raja Chhatar Singh of Chamba smoking a hookah

c. 1700

This object has related works. See

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Medium

Gum tempera and ink on paper

Measurements

Page: 19.7 x 16.4 cm (7 3/4 x 6 7/16 in.); Image: 15.3 x 12.6 cm (6 x 4 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.109

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Location

242B Indian Painting

Did You Know?

The Raja wears a Central Asian robe instead of the popular Mughal jama.

Description

Raja Chattar Singh’s reign, from 1664 to 1690, is considered to be a period of prosperity for Chamba. During that time, boundaries of the kingdoms were expanded, and the economy thrived. He is best known for defying the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s orders to demolish all the Hindu temples in his realm. Instead, he installed copper gilt wooden umbrellas on the temples, many of which exist to this day.