INDIA, RAJASTHAN, BIKANER, CIRCA 1730

Bikaner retained a prominent relationship with the Mughal court, particularly when compared to its neighboring Rajput states. For such reason, Bikaner painting of the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries reveals a strong and sophisticated Mughal influence, resulting in a local atelier that can be considered highly refined, albeit perhaps a bit less expressive and stylized compared to other Rajput schools. During the reign of Maharaja Sujan Singh (r. 1700-1736), influences from Jodhpur and broader traditions in the Deccan began to influence Bikaner painting as well. As in the present example, figures became more slender and elongated, using sinuous lines and delicate colors. In the present scene, Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Hanuman are all depicted with an air of Mughal decadence, crowned, carrying noble tulwars, and wearing fine silk garments.