Prince Padam Singh of Bikaner with His Bard Gordhar on a Terrace at Night

Bhavani Das

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Kishangarh school of painting emerged in the early eighteenth century, likely stimulated by a surplus of Mughal atelier-trained artists who were seeking employment at the time of the accession of Muhammad Shah in Delhi. Initially the Kishangarh court style emulated that of contemporaneous Mughal production, but under the inspired directorship of the painter Bhavani Das, who arrived at the court from Delhi in 1719, it quickly assumed a distinctive character. The early Kishangarh school flourished under Bhavani Das and his son Dalchand. This work is unsigned but such is its skill in capturing individual physiognomies and the psychological interplay between the two figures that it may confidently be assigned to either Bhavani Das or Dalchand. It is inscribed on the reverse in both Hindi and Persian, naming the two figures, and characterizing Gordhar as “a singer of good songs.” The scene is set on a palace terrace with a low white marble balustrade, overlooking a silvered lake in the afterglow of an early evening.

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