Audience on a Terrace

This portrait, possibly of Maharaja Man Singh of Jodhpur (reigned 1803-43), follows conventions established in Mughal portraiture, showing the ruler meeting one-on-one with a courtier or member of the royal household. The setting is often a terrace and the figures are shown in conversation, sometimes while smoking a water pipe (hookah). The grandly dressed maharaja holds a rosary in one hand and the mouthpiece of his water pipe in the other, while a finely jeweled katar blade attached to his sash is prominently displayed, indicating his rank. The smaller figure opposite him might be one of his sons.