The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 27, 2023

Portrait of Raja Ram Singh of Amber (r. 1667-1688) with a Deccan Sword (recto); Calligraphy (verso)

c. 1680–1685

Part of a set. See all set records

India, Mughal court, 17th century

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Page: 30.4 x 18.5 cm (11 15/16 x 7 5/16 in.)

Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.330

Location

not on view

Description

The sensitive, naturalistic rendering of weariness and forbearance in the face belies the trappings of favor bestowed on Ram Singh by the Mughal emperors Shah Jahan and Alamgir, whom he served as courtier and general between 1643 and 1688. He was a Hindu ruler from the kingdom of Amber in Rajasthan, under the control of the Mughal empire. Spending most of his life at the imperial court or leading military expeditions for the Mughals, this portrait was included in a Mughal album and inscribed with an Urdu verse indicating his value to the empire: "wherever he has led an expedition, victory is his." He wears a sumptuous coat of honor with a fur collar, woven with gold threads and floral sprigs and costly rubies, emeralds, and pearls. The straight sword with enameled hilt may be the one gifted to him by the emperor upon his succession to the throne as king of Amber in 1667. His long history of service at the imperial court, however, was checkered with troubles, including his allegiances with failed successors of Shah Jahan and the escape of the rebel Shivaji under his watch.

Inscriptions

Inscription

verso: Deccani Urdu (Karnati) lyrics in nasta‘liq script: “Bhairava” has a camphor-like fair complexion with [young] moon on the forehead and three eyes and with the crown of the matted locks over which the Ganges sparkles. In the one hand he has a human skull, and in the other a trident. His vehicle is a bull, and his body is white (besmeared with ashes). He has the skin of an elephant and of a lion on his back and carries ornaments provided by snakes and sits under the shade of the heavenly wish-fulfilling tree [kalpavriksha]. A white beautiful woman is playing upon a drum [mridanga] at a place beyond Kailash mountains. These, says Ibrahim, are the features of the most charming and excellent Raga Bhairava. (after Kitab-i Nauras Ahmad 1956, 98–99, 130)

Provenance
?-September 1967
(Maggs Brothers, London, UK, Bulletin No. 12, September 1967, no. 11, sold to Ralph Benkaim)
September 1967-2013
Ralph Benkaim [1914-2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
2013-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 66, p. 246
Branfoot, Crispin, ed. Portraiture in South Asia Since the Mughals: Art, Representation and History. London; New York: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2018. Reproduced: pl. 11
Exhibition history

Art of the Indian Subcontinent from Los Angeles Collections. University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (March 4-31, 1968).

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 2, 2014-January 5, 2015).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.330