Maharaja Shri Anand Singh-ji and His Consort

1729

Ustad Murad

(Indian, active 1700s)

Culture

Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bikaner

Medium

Gum tempera, silver, and gold on paper

Measurements

Page: 22.2 x 16.8 cm (8 3/4 x 6 5/8 in.); Miniature: 15.2 x 10.8 cm (6 x 4 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.195

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

The silver carpet marks the royal window where subjects can come to see him.

Description

The artist used metallic paint to indicate the sumptuous materials of the carpet covered with roses that marks the place of the royal couple. The king affectionately slings one arm around the shoulders of his queen, who carelessly allows wine to flow out of the bottle. A gigantic indigo-and-gold cushion provides their backdrop, excluding their attendant. The blue and white arabesques in the spandrels—triangular spaces above the arch—point to the couple’s international sophistication; the elite in northwestern India imported blue-and-white Dutch tiles and Chinese porcelain.