Maharana Jagat Singh II Hunting

Also known as: Maharaja Jagat Singh Hunting

About the Artwork

One of the favorite pastimes of the Rajput nobility was hunting, a subject frequently depicted in secular painting in Rajasthan. Often much larger than other Indian paintings, hunting scenes glorified the pleasures and splendors of these stately affairs. This colorful painting depicts a royal hunt conducted by the Maharana Jagat Singh II of Udaipur. An inscription on the reverse side of the painting mentions the Maharana's name along with the hunting party's other participants, including the Maharana's brother. The hunt takes place in a detailed landscape of hills and varied vegetation. The animals (tiger, bear, wild boar, deer, stag, and antelope) are rounded up and diverted by servants (who shoot firecrackers) toward the shooting box at the center of the composition, where the royal members of the hunting party await their prey. Another group of servants with dogs approaches from the opposite direction to cut off the animals' route of escape. Some beasts are already killed or wounded, while others are trying desperately to run for their lives.

Inscriptions

Jugarsi, son of Jiva; [?]44 115 naṁ kī: 15; śrī mhārānājī śrī jagat sīṁghjī / odī bīrājyā : nāṁr ṭī mareyo māryo / hajur thakur: nām : mhārājā nāthjī 1 / padyār kānjī 1 thakur sīrdār sīṁghjī / bābo bhārath sīghjī 1 samat 1806 rā āsoj bīd 10 rī vaire dīn / nijar huvo cītāro jugarno jīvā ro

Provenance

1998–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 11-September 10, 2023).

Quick Overview

Artist: Jugarsi, son of Jiva (Indian, active mid-1700s)
Date: 1747
Medium: Gum tempera and gold on paper
Dimensions: Sheet: 42.5 x 47 cm (16 3/4 x 18 1/2 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Accession no.: 1998.102

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.