Search engine for discovering works of Art, research articles, and books related to Art and Culture
Javascript must be enabled to continue!
Portrait of Maharaja Kumar Sawant Singh of Kishangarh
View through Harvard Museums
In this painting, Maharaja Kumar Sawant Singh, ruler of Kishangarh (r. 1748–57), stands on a white terrace amid beds of pink roses in full bloom. He was also a poet, under the pen name Nagari Das. One of his poems, titled “The Garden of Love” (ʿIshq Chaman), contains the following lines:
Inhabit the garden of love, sing of the garden of love.
Nagari says: Enter the beloved’s dwelling in the garden of love.
Dedicated to the divine passion of Krishna for Radha, the poem is an expression of Sawant Singh’s ardent love for Bani Thani, a poet and singer. She is probably the woman gazing down at him from the top window in this painting, while her attendant holds the door ajar, reaching forward with a sprig of roses to invite Sawant Singh to enter his beloved’s dwelling in the garden of love.
Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum Gift in gratitude to John Coolidge Gift of Leslie Cheek Jr. Anonymous Fund in memory of Henry Berg Louise Haskell Daly Alpheus Hyatt Richard Norton Memorial Funds and through the generosity of Albert H. Gordon and Emily Rauh Pulitzer; formerly in the collection of Stuart Cary Welch Jr.
Title: Portrait of Maharaja Kumar Sawant Singh of Kishangarh
Description:
In this painting, Maharaja Kumar Sawant Singh, ruler of Kishangarh (r.
1748–57), stands on a white terrace amid beds of pink roses in full bloom.
He was also a poet, under the pen name Nagari Das.
One of his poems, titled “The Garden of Love” (ʿIshq Chaman), contains the following lines:
Inhabit the garden of love, sing of the garden of love.
Nagari says: Enter the beloved’s dwelling in the garden of love.
Dedicated to the divine passion of Krishna for Radha, the poem is an expression of Sawant Singh’s ardent love for Bani Thani, a poet and singer.
She is probably the woman gazing down at him from the top window in this painting, while her attendant holds the door ajar, reaching forward with a sprig of roses to invite Sawant Singh to enter his beloved’s dwelling in the garden of love.
Related Results
Maharaja Fateh Singh of Jodhpur
Maharaja Fateh Singh of Jodhpur
The painting features a portrait of a ruler, identified by the inscription as “Maharaja Fateh Singh of Jodhpur”. However, there is no record of such a ruler for the Jodphur State, ...
The Young Maharaja of Indore in Durbar
The Young Maharaja of Indore in Durbar
Occupying the center of this painting is a princely youth, identified by Naveen Patnaik as Tukaji Rao Holkar II (1836-86). The young maharaja is seated in durbar on a low, red uph...
Mokham Singh (r. 1838-1841) of Kishangarh with Courtiers
Mokham Singh (r. 1838-1841) of Kishangarh with Courtiers
A haloed and bejeweled Mokham Singh (r. 1838–41), maharaja of Kishangarh in the central region of Rajasthan, receives his courtiers on a terrace overlooking a serene lake edged by ...
Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Horse with a One-Eyed Groom
Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Horse with a One-Eyed Groom
The painting depicts the horse of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (r. 1801-1839), the first maharaja of the Sikhs of the Punjab. The caparisoned horse is white, gray, and dappled. A groomsma...
Maharaja Ajit Singh of Marwar and Sons during the Festival of Diwali
Maharaja Ajit Singh of Marwar and Sons during the Festival of Diwali
The painting depicts Maharaja Ajit Singh of Marwar (r. 1679-1724) enthroned. He wears a gold robe (jama) and is bedecked with jewelry. He wears an ornamented turban with a large bl...
Ten Thousand Years, Ten Thousand Years of Sleep, One Hundred Million Scattered Pieces
Ten Thousand Years, Ten Thousand Years of Sleep, One Hundred Million Scattered Pieces
This triptych comprises a set of three hanging scrolls, each painted in ink on paper. The central scroll is a formal portrait of Mao Zedong (1893–1976); the flanking scrolls repres...