Equestrian Portrait of Maharana Raj Singh II of Mewar (r. 1755–62)

c. 1760

Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Mewar

Medium

Measurements

40 x 28 cm (15 3/4 x 11 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.148

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

The two attendants behind the horse’s rear hold flowers to their noses.

Description

The youthful king was only eleven years old when he inherited the throne from his father Pratap Singh II (r. 1752–55). Here shown with barely the beginnings of facial hair starting to grow, he wears a gorgeous turban with fresh flowers tucked into the bejeweled band, and a lion-headed dagger in his belt. Multicolored clouds gather forbiddingly in the sky, promising rain, as the black stallion trots through the grasses, and he gestures to his attendants not to be afraid.