Maharaja Raj Singh Receives a Yogi in a Garden

In the drawing at left, which combines aerial and linear perspectives, Maharaja Raj Singh of Sawar (r. 1705–30) receives a yogi on the terrace of his private garden. Both men are flanked by attendants. The lower half of the composition shows an enclosed garden organized on a grid plan, with a central fountain from which assorted birds drink. Each plot is planted with a different species of tree and populated by a miscellany of birds. In the sensitively rendered drawing at right, which exemplifies the idiosyncratic style that evolved at Sawar, Raj Singh is depicted enjoying an outing accompanying his elephants from the royal stables. The maharaja is seated in a howdah (litter) atop his prized elephant along with his personal attendant, Sevo, shown seated behind him and waving a fan of peacock feathers. Artists in neighboring Kota and Bundi undoubtedly influenced the sensitive treatment of the elephants seen here, but the exceptional linear quality must be credited to an unnamed master of the Sawar court atelier.