The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Raja Dilip Singh of Guler on a dais

c. 1707

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Gum tempera and gold on paper
Image: 22.7 x 15.3 cm (8 15/16 x 6 in.); Overall: 27.1 x 19.8 cm (10 11/16 x 7 13/16 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1960.49
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

He holds a manuscript, possibly referencing his court chronicle the Diliparanjani, completed in 1707.

Description

Dilip Singh (reigned 1695–1741) holds a manuscript page with alternating lines of red and black ink, which may be a sacred text that announces his devotion to the Hindu god Vishnu, whose mark appears on his forehead. He inaugurated the practice of commissioning paintings and manuscripts for the royal collection at Guler. Some members of a family of artists of Guler had worked in the Mughal imperial workshop in Lahore in present-day Pakistan. They brought a vision of naturalism and delicate refinement evident in the trees, his facial features, Mughal-style belted tunic, and carpet with floral patterns.
  • ?–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. 68; plate 65
    Heeramaneck, Alice N. Masterpieces of Indian Painting: From the Former Collections of Nasli M. Heeramaneck. Verona, Italy: A.N. Heeramaneck, 1984. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 96, color plate 97, p. 111
    Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 107
  • Indian Gallery 242 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 10, 2018-April 7, 2019).
    Indian Gallery 242 Rotation – April-November 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 2-November 18, 2018).
    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=Raja Dilip Singh of Guler on a dais|url=false|author=|year=c. 1707|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1960.49