The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Posthumous portrait of Raja Chhatar Singh of Chamba smoking a hookah with his brother and son

c. 1700

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Gum tempera and ink on paper
Image: 16.2 x 26.5 cm (6 3/8 x 10 7/16 in.); Overall: 20.3 x 31 cm (8 x 12 3/16 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1960.47
Location: Not on view

Description

King Chhatar Singh (reigned 1664–90), his thinning facial hair shot through with gray, points to his heart, a gesture common in images of the deceased. With his right hand he grasps the pipe of a hookah, connecting him to his son Udai Singh, who holds the rim of its base. The king’s sword points directly to the boy, further linking them visually. Since hookah smoking connoted elite royal status in Pahari portraiture, this image suggests the passing of power from father to son.
  • ?–1960
    (Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1960–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Asia Society, Sherman E. Lee, and George Montgomery. Rajput Painting; with an introductory essay and catalogue notes. New York: Asia House, 1960. Reproduced: p. 74; plate 70
    Coates, Robert M.. "The Art Galleries Here and There." The New Yorker (December 31, 1960): 45–47. Mentioned: p. 45
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 239 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 239 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 309 archive.org
    Von Spee, Clarissa. "Chinese Ceramics and Works on Paper." In The Keithley Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art, edited by Heather Lemonedes Brown, 194–229. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2022. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 222, fig. 44
  • Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 18, 2004-May 23, 2005).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 13, 2003-February 18, 2004).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 17-August 18, 1999).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 13-July 15, 1998).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 21-December 4, 1997).
    Year in Review - Nineteen Hundred Sixty. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 30, 1960-January 1, 1961).
    Rajput Painting. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (November 30, 1960-January 22, 1961).
  • {{cite web|title=Posthumous portrait of Raja Chhatar Singh of Chamba smoking a hookah with his brother and son|url=false|author=|year=c. 1700|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1960.47