Maharaja Sidh Sen Receiving an Embassy

A Master of the Mandi atelier

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The subdues palette of grays, greens, and whites and the sophisticated drawing of this unusually large and ambitious painting mark it as the work of the most important Mandi painter of the early eighteenth century. The dual-level composition, in which the maharaja and two visiting dignitaries sit on a raised dais covered with a summer carpet while retainers and mounts stand on the ground below, derives from Mughal models. The subject is extremely unusual within the corpus of hill-state painting; the picture probably records an actual meeting, which seems filled with import. In Hindu painting, rulers are routinely portrayed on a larger scale than their courtiers, as befits their royal stature. Here, the two massive figures face each other; the white-robed Sidh Sen and his portly petitioner.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art