Indian and Himalayan Art Maharao Bhim Singh of Kota Attending Krishna as Brijnathji Made in Kota, Rajasthan, India, Asiac. 1719-20 Attributed to the Kota Master Opaque watercolor and gold on paper Currently not on view 1997-25-1 Gift of Stuart Cary Welch, Jr. in memory of William P. Wood, 1997 |
LabelKrishna appears here as Brijnathji, sitting on a low throne and wearing the jeweled regalia and halo of a ruler. Behind him, also dressed and haloed as a king and yet holding a peacock fan in the posture of a servant or devotee, stands the human ruler of Kota, Maharao Bhim Singh (ruled 1707-20). Bhim Singh was a powerful king whose favor by the Mughal emperor and conquests of neighboring states transformed the city of Kota into a significant regional power. He was also the first ruler to receive the gold statue of Brijnathji, which from then on designated its owner as the legitimate ruler of Kota. |
