- Title
- Sultan Baz Bahadur of Malwa (r. 1555-1562) and Rani Rupmati Hunting (recto), Sketches (verso)
- Date Made
- circa 1770
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper; red and black ink on verso
- Dimensions
- Image: 7 1/4 x 9 7/8 in. (18.42 x 25.08 cm); Sheet: 8 x 10 7/8 in. (20.32 x 27.62 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.80.55
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
This painting illustrates the famous love story of Sultan Baz Bahadur (r. 1555-1562) and his beloved Hindu Queen Rupmati who ruled the Malwa Sultanate from the capital of Mandu. Baz Bahadur and his forces were defeated by the invading Mughal army of Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) in the battle of Sarangpur in 1561. Rupmati was captured and, in accordance with the age-old Hindu marital practice, virtuously committed suicide. According to the tragic tale, Rupmati kept her husband from straying by joining him on midnight hunts. Illustrations of the royal couple hunting typically portray them on horseback riding through a forest or hunting antelope or sometimes hawking.
In this painting, Baz Bahadur and Rupmati are galloping on horseback hunting antelope in the middle of a field with receding hills. They have each just shot an arrow into an antelope, which is being attacked by a Saluki hunting dog. In contrast, the compositionally similar representation in M.77.154.5 portrays Baz Bahadur drawing his bow to fire an arrow while Rupmati reaches forward with her bow to snare a female antelope by the neck, which is said to convey her compassion.
See also M.72.45, M.77.154.5, and M.81.271.11.
- Selected Bibliography
- Sen, Colleen Taylor. Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India. London: Reaktion Books, 2015.
