Maharana Jagat Singh Hawks for Cranes - Shiva and Dayal

A detailed Mewar school miniature painting depicting Maharana Jagat Singh II during a royal hawking expedition, c. 1750.

This work, attributed to the artists Shiva and Dayal, originates from the Mewar school of painting in Rajasthan. It depicts Maharana Jagat Singh II engaged in the royal pursuit of hawking. The composition employs a narrative structure common to the period, where multiple events occur within a single frame. The viewer observes the royal party moving through varied terrain, from the hills to the cultivated fields and the water bodies where the cranes gather.

The painting is organised into distinct zones of activity. At the top, the sky is rendered with a stylised sun, casting light over the scene. Below, the Maharana appears in several positions, mounted on horseback or seated, surrounded by his retinue. The artists use a flattened perspective, allowing for the inclusion of numerous figures, horses, and birds without obscuring the details of the hunt. The colour palette is dominated by earthy tones, ochres, and greens, framed by a bold red border that is characteristic of Mewar manuscripts and courtly commissions.

Technically, the work demonstrates the precision of the Mewar workshop tradition. The figures are rendered with fine brushwork, and the horses are depicted with attention to their varied coats and postures. The inclusion of the cranes in flight adds a sense of motion to the otherwise static, decorative arrangement of the courtly procession. This piece provides a record of the leisure activities of the Rajput nobility, reflecting the social hierarchy and the importance of hunting as a display of royal authority. The presence of black circular marks on the surface suggests this may have been a preparatory study or a working document used by the artists to track the placement of figures within the complex composition.