Nobles at court

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              "text": "Unidentified woman of the zenana c. 1870 CE The woman is seated on an upright chair placed on a carpet against a painted backdrop. She wears an odhni of typical Jaipur leheriya design.",
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          "content": [
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              "text": "images courtesy the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust",
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          "content": [
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              "text": "Unidentified young girl of the zenana c. 1870 CE A young girl, dressed in fine clothes and heavy jewellery, sits on a padded chair before the same painted backdrop as the fourth image, resting her elbow on the studio table.",
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              "text": "images courtesy the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust",
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          "content": [
            {
              "text": "Unidentified woman of the zenana c. 1870 CE Two half-length images exposed on a single glass plate, showing a pardayat in ornate jewellery and a sheer sari.",
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              "text": "images courtesy the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust",
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          "content": [
            {
              "text": "Unidentified women of the zenana c. 1870 CE Five pardayats sit on chairs in a courtyard, wearing churidaars and odhnis. The central woman seems to be holding a lapdog which has moved during the period of exposure and thus appears blurred.",
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              "text": "images courtesy the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust",
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              "text": "Unidentified woman of the zenana c. 1870 CE Dressed in a sari, wearing heavy jewellery and with sandalwood paste above her eyes, this pardayat rests one elbow on the usual studio table as she gazes confidently back at the photographer.",
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          "content": [
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              "text": "images courtesy the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust",
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          "type": "caption",
          "content": [
            {
              "text": "Unidentified woman of the zenana c. 1870 CE Dressed in odhni and ghagra, the woman stands by the table against a painted backdrop that depicts the palace interior with an ornate fireplace and draped windows.",
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              "text": "images courtesy the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust",
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          "content": [
            {
              "text": "Unidentified members of court c. 1870 CE This portrait of an elderly court functionary is noteworthy for his delightful shawl, block printed with birds that appear to be small finches. This is a traditional pattern that is no longer produced in Sanganer, the block printing centre of Jaipur.",
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              "text": "images courtesy the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust",
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      "content": [
        {
          "type": "caption",
          "content": [
            {
              "text": "Unidentified members of court c. 1870 CE With photographic albums at his elbow, the young man poses for the camera on his wedding day, denoted by the tinsel wound around his sword and turban.",
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              "text": "images courtesy the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust",
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          "content": [
            {
              "text": "Unidentified members of court c. 1870 CE A scholar among soldiers, the second sitter from the left is the only one to hold a book among his companions who hold the more conventional sword. The image is unusual for being a group photograph of nobles in a collection primarily of single portraits.",
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              "text": "images courtesy the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust",
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Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II ruled Jaipur from 1835 to 1880. He had a passion for photography that was reflected by the range of images he created, particularly the portraits, which straddled the hierarchy of his court. The images suggest the documentary nature of the collection, a drive to record everything with the new camera technology. Such an effort to capture the people and spirit of the times was not new in Jaipur, for a similar exercise was undertaken by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II who ruled from 1699 to 1743, and his immediate successors, albeit using pigment and paper. The resulting works recorded the nobles and grandees of the court, anonymous women, and junior functionaries such as tailors. They were perhaps commissioned to mark the establishment of the new court at Jaipur; just as these appear to mark the advent of a technological era. Although we can only guess at the sitters’ roles and personalities—their names are unrecorded—this striking group of portraits offers a glimpse into the world surrounding the Maharaja.

A large number of the photographic portraits taken by Ram Singh depict pardayats or concubines, residents of the palace zenana—the section set aside for the seclusion of women. While all of his work is remarkable—as the work of a photographer of his time and status—these images of women are unique, affording us an unrivalled glimpse behind the purdah of a nineteenth-century Rajput zenana. The women pictured normally led a life of seclusion, shielded from the public eye. Ram Singh’s portraits afford ample evidence of their dress and jewellery, and offer clues about their religious leanings and leisure pursuits.

The above images have been taken from Paintings & Photography at the Jaipur Court by Niyogi Books and edited by Mrinalini Venkateswaran and Giles Tillotson.