Jodhpur’s treasure comes to Sydney

Atreasure trove of 54 Indian paintings from the royal collection at the Mehrangarh Museum Trust in Jodhpur will showcase at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from October 29. Garden & Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur consists of rare 17th–19th century paintings that have not been seen outside India until now. They travel to the AGNSW after a successful show at the British Museum, as part of the Gallery’s Indian Summer at the Gallery.

The royal collection was established by the current Maharaja in 1972 to promote awareness of the unknown treasures in the royal store. The paintings in this exhibition are all from major manuscripts, and deal with two main themes, including paintings of Krishna and the gopis, and incidents from the Ramayana

The paintings of the Ramayana theme were created under the patronage of Maharaja Man Singh (r. 1803-43), inspired by his devotion to the Nath religious tradition of yogins, practitioners of hatha yoga. The Naths revered and emulated immortal ascetics known as mahasiddhas (great perfected beings), whose supernatural powers were believed to surpass even those of the Hindu gods, according to the press release for the exhibition.

Portraits of these yogins, particularly the immortal ascetic Jallandharnath of whom Man Singh was a devotee, appear in the exhibition. These paintings explain Nath beliefs which, until this time, had been only been related orally or through text.

The paintings feature intricate details, bold colours, stylised features to depict the luxurious lifestyles of the maharajas, as well as the ascetic lives of the ash-smeared gurus.

“Visitors to Garden & Cosmos are sure to experience spiritual bliss” said Jackie Menzies, inaugural Curator of Asian Arts at the Gallery.

Garden & Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 29 October 2009– 26 January 2010, $8, $5 concession, $21 family.

Shivangi Ambani-Gandhi