Royal Imagery of the Hunt in Indian Art to be Explored in Exhibition at Met Museum

 

Installation Location: Florence and Herbert Irving Asian Wing, third floor, Gallery 251

 

The expression of imperial authority is a universal aspect of royal imagery of the hunt, with rulers pursuing prey serving as metaphors for power and martial prowess. This theme is celebrated throughout the history of Indian art and found its fullest expression in the later courtly arts of manuscript painting. Opening on June 20, an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Royal Hunt: Courtly Pursuits in Indian Art, will showcase some 30 paintings dating from the late 16th to the early 20th century along with an array of fine Indian weapons used in the hunt, such as swords, lances, punch daggers, and matchlock guns. Many of the weapons are themselves beautifully decorated with scenes of the hunt. Works on view will be drawn from the Museum’s Departments of Asian Art, Islamic Art, and Arms and Armor, as well as from New York private collections.

 

The exhibition is made possible by The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation Fund.

 

Celebrating the martial prowess of the ruler grew to be a central theme in much of the narrative painting that was commissioned during the early Mughal period in the late 16th century. Works on view will include a fine example attributed to the celebrated artist Manohar, depicting the emperor Akbar on horseback slaying animals corralled in an enclosure. The portrayal of rulers engaged in hunting continued to be prominent in Mughal court painting through the 17th century. When the subject was taken up in paintings of the Hindu princes of Rajasthan and surrounding regions, it assumed a particular poignancy, reflecting the growing powerlessness of the Hindu rulers in the face, first, of Mughal power and, subsequently, expanding British control.

 

The royal hunt in India eventually grew to a form of ritualized warfare in which rulers and their vast entourages of courtiers, guards, and beaters hunted mercilessly a diminishing population of rhinoceros, tiger, boar, deer, and crocodile. With the arrival of photography in the Hindu courts in the 1870s, the recording of hunting trophies—the kill—became a favored expression of the theme.

 

The exhibition is organized by John Guy, Florence and Herbert Irving Curator of the Arts of South and Southeast Asia, in the Department of Asian Art.

 

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum will offer a variety of education programs, including, gallery tours and a Friday Focus Lecture on September 18.

 

The exhibition will be featured on the Museum’ website, as well as on Facebook,Instagram and Twitter via the hashtag #RoyalHuntIndia and #AsianArt100.