H x W (painting): 32.4 × 22.3 cm (12 3/4 × 8 3/4 in)
Type:
Painting
Origin:
Mewar, Rajasthan state, India
Date:
ca. 1740s
School/Tradition:
Mewar school
Label:
An inscription in the upper margin in nagari identifies the subject as Rao Sri Ram Chand, ruler of the thikana of Bedla, which was part of the Mewar kingdom. On a canopied swing, the nobleman sits with his arm affectionately draped across his consorts shoulders and holding her hand. It is night, the jewelry and gold-embrodiered garments of Ramchand and his attendants gleam against the dark garden setting.
The painting is very much in the style of Amar Singh II (r. 1698-1710) painting, with whom Rao Ramchand was intimately connected as his daughter, Maharani Dev Kunwar, had married the Mewar ruler.
Provenance:
To 1969
Indian Arts Palace, New Delhi [1]
From 1969 to 2001
Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), Beverly Hills, California, purchased from Indian Arts Palace, New Delhi in November 1969 [2]
From 2001 to 2018
Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, by inheritance from Ralph Benkaim in 2001
From 2018
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim
[1] Ralph Benkaim purchased the painting from Indian Arts Palace, New Delhi in November 1969, several years before Indian paintings were classified as antiquities by the Indian government, according to Ralph Benkaim’s personal records, as relayed by Catherine Glynn Benkaim.
[2] See note 1.
Collection:
National Museum of Asian Art Collection
Exhibition History:
A Flower from Every Meadow: Indian Paintings from American Collections (April 12, 1973 to November 11, 1973)
