Marwar is the historic name for the large area of western Rajasthan that includes much of the formidable Thar desert as well as many smaller towns and villages. At their capital in Jodhpur, the Rathor clan of Rajputs who ruled Marwar, developed a strikingly individual style of painting which was interpreted in a host of different ways by local artists in the many small fiefdoms (thikanas) that were the ancestral lands of the Rathor nobility. Artists trained at the courts of the Mughal emperors brought sophisticated concepts of portraiture and composition to Jodhpur in the 17th and 18th centuries, and these ideas were combined with distinctive local styles and bold colours to form a uniquely lively school of painting. This book is the first to show a wide range of these vibrant paintings in full colour and to provide a complete survey of the development of this little known school of Rajasthani painting. Drawn largely from the royal collection in Jodhpur itself, the paintings discussed in the book also include examples from public and private collections in India, the USA and Great Britain, most of which have never before been published. Beautifully illustrated and throughly researched, this important work will be essential for all lovers of Indian painting.

Author Biography

Rosemary Crill is Senior Curator of the Indian and South-East Asian Department at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Her particular areas of interest are Indian paintings and textiles, and she has written extensively on these subjects. She has also written Indian Ikat Textiles (V&A Publications, 1998) and co-authored Colours of the Indus: Costume and Textiles of Pakistan (Merell Holberton/V&A, 1997).