Cleveland Museum of Art

Maharaja of Rewa in Prayer

Raja Deen Dayal

Date

1886

Medium

albumen print

Culture

India

Department

Photography

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.