Portrait of Maharaja Rai Singh of Bikaner (reigned 1574–1612) (c. 1610): Art, History and Details

Portrait of Maharaja Rai Singh of Bikaner (reigned 1574–1612) (c. 1610) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

The portly Rajput king wears a long, belted tunic tied under the left arm—the custom of most Hindus. His berry-hued garments stand in pleasing contrast against the teal green background that references the lushness of paradise. Though the artist is unidentified, the naturalistic sensitivity of the portrait and delicacy of the garments imply the work of a master court painter, probably following a model by Nur Muhammad. Rai Singh had an illustrious career serving his overlord the Mughal emperor Akbar (reigned 1556–1605), and his daughter was married to Akbar’s son, Jahangir (reigned 1605–27).

Object facts

• Title: Portrait of Maharaja Rai Singh of Bikaner (reigned 1574–1612)
• Date: c. 1610
• Culture: Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bikaner
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera and gold on paper
• Dimensions: 25.4 x 38.1 cm (10 x 15 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2021.11

A detail from the museum

This painting is based on a drawing also in the CMA collection (1987.1100).

Collection credit

Alma Kroeger 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.