A painting of Maharana Jagat Singh and his family worshipping at the Eklingji temple

INDIA, MEWAR, CIRCA 1750

Details

A painting of Maharana Jagat Singh and his family worshipping at the Eklingji temple
India, Mewar, circa 1750
With the king and his sons seated and his wives standing at center, another prince and two monks standing at left, all making offerings to the enshrined lingam-yoni capped by a golden snake, with the Nandi mandapa at right next to a golden statue of the bovine god, a woman in the foreground stringing garlands while another monk collects them, the scene set within an open courtyard surrounded by trees and pink walls, the brown background with high horizon in the distance, the shrine's spire and flag extending into the red borders
Opaque pigments and gold on paper
8¾ x 16 5/8 in. (22.2 x 42.3 cm.), image
9¼ x 17 3/8 in. (23.6 x 44 cm.), folio

Provenance

Private collection, London, acquired at Sotheby's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 150

Lot Essay

The Eklingji temple is an important shrine devoted to Shiva near Udaipur. The Maharana of Udaipur is considered to be the dewan of the deity, so visits to the shrine by the prince were considered important processions. For a slightly earlier painting with the temple oriented vertically and depicting Jagat Singh's father, Sangram Singh, visiting the same shrine, see A. Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur, 2001, p. 169, fig. 150.

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