Cleveland Museum of Art

Maharaja Shri Anand Singh-ji and His Consort

Ustad Murad

Date

1729

Medium

Gum tempera, silver, and gold on paper

Culture

Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bikaner

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The artist used metallic paint to indicate the sumptuous materials of the carpet covered with roses that marks the place of the royal couple. The king affectionately slings one arm around the shoulders of his queen, who carelessly allows wine to flow out of the bottle. A gigantic indigo-and-gold cushion provides their backdrop, excluding their attendant. The blue and white arabesques in the spandrels—triangular spaces above the arch—point to the couple’s international sophistication; the elite in northwestern India imported blue-and-white Dutch tiles and Chinese porcelain. The silver carpet marks the royal window where subjects can come to see him.

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