- Title
- Prince Gambhir Singh Receiving the Dancer Gulabani
- Date Made
- circa 1775-1800
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- Image: 5 1/8 x 7 1/2 in. (13.02 x 19.05 cm); Sheet: 6 3/4 x 9 1/8 in. (17.15 x 23.18 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.85.139.6
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
According to the devanagari inscriptions on the reverse, this painting depicts Prince Gambhir Singh (dates unknown) on a palace terrace beside a lake with pink lotuses. He has a gray moustache, wears a Central Indian-style flat turban, and is seated on a carpet leaning against a bolster. Behind him is an unidentified bearded man and a younger man named Bihadipadhar seated on the terrace with his sword. The latter two men wear identical garments and may be members of Gambhir Singh’s family. They are accompanied by an attendant holding a fly whisk on his shoulder and carrying a spittoon used while chewing beetle nut quids (pan). They are receiving the dancer Gulabani (or Gupalani) and her entourage of a younger woman, perhaps a singer, and three male musicians.
This painting was likely made during the reign of Raja Mahendra Vikramajit (r. 1776-1817). At this time, Orchha was a Mughal feudatory. Orchha entered a protective alliance with the British in 1812. Vikramajit abdicated in 1817 and died in 1834.
