A Raja Smoking a Hookah

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

By the last quarter of the seventeenth century, artists at Kota had already begun producing depictions of court life. Here, an unidentified raja is seated on a terrace covered with a floral carpet. He is smoking a hookah. His left hand simultaneously guides the hose toward his mouth and holds a sprig of flowers. His right arm rests on a large, striped bolster. A box for pan (betel nut), another intoxicant, is set before him. The painting combines elements of the Rajput, Deccani, and Mughal styles. The saturated color in the lower half of the painting is typically Rajput, as is the shallow space. The idea of portraiture likely was inspired by Mughal or Deccani models, as was the pale green background of the painting.

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