Framed
Travel To Medieval India Through The MET’s Divine Rajput Paintings
Text by Huzan Tata. All images courtesy The Metropolitan Museum Of Art.
Click on any image to view in larger gallery
Hide-and-Seek: Krishna Playing a Game with the Gopas (Cowherds)
Hide-and-Seek: Krishna Playing a Game with the Gopas (Cowherds)
Ascribed to the artist Manaku (ca. 1700–ca. 1760).
Punjab Hills, kingdom of Guler, ca. 1750–55
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper; narrow dark blue border (probably trimmed); painting 9 5/8 x 6 3/4 in. (24.4 x 17.1 cm). Promised Gift of the Kronos Collections, 2015.
Krishna and the Gopas (Cow Herders) Enter the Forest
Krishna and the Gopas (Cow Herders) Enter the Forest
Rajasthan, kingdom of Kota, ca. 1720.
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; red border with black-lined gold inner rule; painting 10 1/2 x 7 3/4 in. (26.7 x 19.7 cm), page 12 5/8 x 9 3/8 in. (32.1 x 23.8 cm).
Promised Gift of the Kronos Collections, 2015.
Ladies on a Terrace
Painted by the artist Ruknuddin (active ca. 1650–ca. 1697). Rajasthan, kingdom of Bikaner, dated 1675.
Opaque watercolor, black ink, and gold on paper; wide light brown border with variously colored inner rules; painting 7 5/8 x 5 5/16 in. (19.4 x 13.5 cm), page 10 9/16 x 7 9/16 in. (26.8 x 19.2 cm). Promised Gift of the Kronos Collections, 2015.
The Village Beauty
Probably painted by the artist Fattu (active ca. 1770–1820). Illustrated folio from the dispersed “Kangra Bihari” Sat Sai (Seven Hundred Verses). Punjab Hills, kingdom of Kangra, ca. 1785 Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper; narrow yellow and white borders with black inner rules; dark
blue spandrels decorated with gold arabesque; painting 7 3/8 x 5 3/16 in. (18.7 x 13.2 cm), page 8 1/8 x 5 7/8 in. (20.6 x 14.9 cm). Promised Gift of the Kronos Collections, 2015.
A Nobleman and His Devoted Wife Seated in the Forest; Two Female Musicians Attend
A Nobleman and His Devoted Wife Seated in the Forest; Two Female Musicians Attend
Illustrated folio probably from an unidentified nayakanayika (hero-heroine) series Punjab Hills, kingdom of Basohli, ca. 1685. Opaque watercolor, gold, and applied beetle-wing cases on paper; wide red border with black, silver (now tarnished), and striated white inner rules; black outer rule (missing right corner of folio replaced); painting 6 11/16 x 11 in. (17 x 27.9 cm), page 8 1/2 x 12 3/4 in. (21.6 x
32.4 cm). Promised Gift of the Kronos Collections, 2015.
The Lovers Radha and Krishna in a Palm Grove
The Lovers Radha and Krishna in a Palm Grove
Illustrated folio from the dispersed “Second” or “Tehri Garhwal” Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherds). Punjab Hills, kingdom of Kangra or Guler, ca. 1775–80
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; red border decorated with gold arabesque, with black inner rules; painting 6 x 9 7/8 in. (15.2 x 25.1 cm), page 7 1/16 x 11 in.
(17.9 x 27.9 cm). Promised Gift of the Kronos Collections, 2015.
In the ateliers of Rajasthani palaces, art was created for the personal enjoyment and entertainment of the kings. These creations – portraying Indian epics and poetic literature as well as captivating court vignettes – were produced primarily between the 16th and 19th centuries, under the patronage of the Rajput rulers. Now, viewers can travel to royal India through the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s summer exhibition featuring a selection of these watercolours.
The collection, of nearly 100 paintings, has been put together from former curator Steven M. Kossak and his family’s Kronos Collections, and took almost four decades to assemble. Many of them are being publicly displayed for the first time, and include works from the Bikaner, Bundi, Kishangarh, Kota and Mewar schools, as well as from the smaller courts of North India. Examples of the Early Rajput style will also be on view. Organised by curator Navina Haidar and senior research assistant Courtney Stewart from the institution’s Department of Islamic Art, this show offers a glimpse into the lives of Rajasthan royalty. ‘These distinguished paintings constitute one of the premier collections of this material in private hands, and their eventual addition to the Met collection will transform the museum’s holdings of Rajput painting. It is a significant addition to Steve’s legacy,’ says Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the museum.
Divine Pleasures: Painting from India’s Rajput Courts — The Kronos Collections is on display at The Met Fifth Avenue, New York till September 12, 2016.