Maharaja of Rewa in Prayer (1886): Art, History and Details

Maharaja of Rewa in Prayer (1886) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Performing religious devotions was part of a maharaja’s duty to protect his kingdom. Praying before an altar, the maharaja fingers prayer beads and sits opposite a mirror, an auspicious object in Hindu worship. The lines painted on the men’s foreheads indicatethat they are devotees of the Hindu god Vishnu. This group portrait demonstrates three ways rulers serve the state: by being a military commander, a worldly scholar, and, in this image, an observant Hindu.

Object facts

• Title: Maharaja of Rewa in Prayer
• Date: 1886
• Creator attribution: Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905)
• Culture: India
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: albumen print
• Dimensions: Image: 20 x 27.2 cm (7 7/8 x 10 11/16 in.); Paper: 20 x 27.2 cm (7 7/8 x 10 11/16 in.)
• Collection: PH - Misc. 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2016.266.21

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.