Prince Bakhtavar Singh of Jhilai in his youth

Historical period(s)
ca. 1800
School
Jhilai school
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 20.3 × 29.3 cm (8 × 11 9/16 in)
Geography
India, Rajasthan state, Jhilai
Credit Line
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S2018.1.79
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Painting

Keywords
horse, hunting, India, portrait, prince, Ralph and Catherine Benkaim collection
Provenance

To 2004
Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd., New York, New York [1]

From 2004 to 2018
Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, purchased from Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd., New York, New York in November 2004 [2]

From 2018
Freer Gallery of Art, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim [3]

Notes:

[1] According to information from Catherine Glynn Benkaim.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See Acquisition Consideration Form, object file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Terence McInerney Fine Arts, Ltd.
Catherine Glynn Benkaim

Inscription(s)

Verso: kanvarji sri bakhvatav sighji jhalaye ka javan pana ki tasbir che; [no.] 54 (in red nagari); [no.] 22
Kanwarji Shri Bhaktavar Singh Ji Jhula Theka, Javan Pana KI Tasveer Che
Kunwarji (Prince) Shri Bakhtavar Singh Ji’s portrait or image in his youth (possibly- in a swing)

Label

Jhilai is a small and less well-known court in a thikana located between Sawai Madhopur and Uniara. Its
distinctive style of painting, which emerged in the late eighteenth century, is likely the work of a single artist with a workshop.

The monsoon landscape writhes with energy: scalloped clouds almost bursting with water, snaking streaks of lightening, surging hills, rhythmically dotted shrubs, jagged edged silver lakes and slashing lines that represent tall grass or patch of rain, are hallmarks of the mannered Jhilai idiom. The artist excelled in capturing the drama of a hunt during the monsoon, but was apparently less interested in the human figure. In contrast to the dramatic landscape, fleeing boars, and thrashing dogs, the aristocratic hunter is a stiff cut-out.

Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
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