# Rajasthani Miniature Painting One tradition, many courts. From the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, the Rajput courts of Rajasthan kept their own painters, and each court developed its own way of drawing a face, a sky or a horse. The paintings are small, made on layered paper with mineral colours, gold and very fine brushes. Page: - **Made at:** The Rajput courts of Rajasthan, each with its own style - **Surface:** Wasli: thin handmade paper pasted in layers - **Colours:** Mostly mineral pigments, with gold and silver - **Court schools:** Flourished from the 17th to the 19th century - **Recognition:** GI for Nathdwara pichhwai; Kishangarh painting applied for ## Many courts, many styles India's school textbook calls it Rajasthani painting: the painting of the Rajput courts of the plains, as distinct from the Pahari painting of the smaller hill courts in the Himalayan foothills. In 1916 the scholar Ananda Coomaraswamy grouped both as “Rajput painting”, to set them apart from Mughal painting; the textbook now calls that term obsolete. What the courts shared was a way of working: opaque colour on layered handmade paper, fine brushes, and a repertoire of poetry, music, religion and court life. What they did not share was a style. Kishangarh painters became known for long faces with receding foreheads and deeply curved eyes; Mewar painters drew faces in strict profile, with one eye showing. The word “miniature” refers to the small scale and fine detail. Some writers question it, since it was first used in India in the colonial period. Not every work is small: Jaipur also produced life-size portraits. ### What the paintings show - **Ragamala:** paintings of musical modes, each giving the mood of a raga - **Krishna:** from the Bhagavata Purana, the Gita Govinda and the Rasikapriya - **Nayika:** the heroine, an ideal of feminine beauty in Indian poetry - **Baramasa:** the twelve months of the year - **The court:** durbars, hunts and portraits of rulers The sources describe these subjects without assigning fixed meanings to motifs, so none are claimed here. ### Mewar *Udaipur · Dated works from 1605.* Confident lines and an earthy palette of ochre and olive. Hindu and Rajput figures are drawn in strict profile, with one eye showing. A ragamala painted at Chawand in 1605 by an artist named Nisardin, also given as Nasiruddin. Sahibdin's Ramayana, 1649–53. Udaipur was the capital from 1615. Shown on the page: Maharana Sangram Singh Riding a Prize Stallion, by an artist known as the Stipple Master, about 1712; ink, opaque watercolour, gold and Basra pearls on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (72589), public domain. ### Bundi *Bundi · Dated works from 1591.* Noted, in the words of India's school textbook, for an “unblemished colour sense and excellent formal design”. A ragamala of 1591, painted at Chunar for the Bundi court. Illustrated poetry such as the Rasikapriya, about Radha and Krishna. Shown on the page: Krishna and Radha, from a Rasikapriya, about 1660–70; ink, opaque watercolour and gold on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (37815), public domain. ### Kota *Kota · From the 1660s.* Best known for hunting scenes, drawn with a spontaneous, calligraphic line. Painting at Kota began under Jagat Singh, who ruled from 1658 to 1683. Shown on the page: Study for a Tiger Hunt, by Sheikh Taju, 1780; ink and watercolour on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (38047), public domain. ### Kishangarh *Kishangarh · Best known 1735–1757.* Elongated faces in profile, with receding foreheads, sharply defined noses and chins, and deeply curved eyes. The painter Nihal Chand, working for Savant Singh, who ruled from 1748 to 1757 and wrote poetry as Nagari Das. The state was founded about 1609. Shown on the page: A Lady Playing the Tanpura, about 1735; ink, opaque and transparent watercolour, and gold on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (38038), public domain. ### Jaipur *Amber, then Jaipur · Jaipur founded 1727.* Began at Amber, the earlier capital. Known for portraits, some of them life-size, and for large formats. Sahibram, an accomplished portrait painter at the Jaipur court. Shown on the page: Krishna and the Gopis Take Shelter from the Rain, 1760; ink, opaque watercolour and gold on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (37968), public domain. ### Marwar *Jodhpur · 17th–19th centuries.* In the 17th century, funnel-shaped turbans and slender, spiralling clouds. A ragamala painted at Pali in 1623. A preparatory study from Jodhpur appears under “How a painting is made” below. ### Bikaner *Bikaner · 17th century onwards.* Soft colour tones, in the work of painters such as Ruknuddin. Painting was organised in workshops under a master. Nuruddin's Rasikapriya, dated 1683. The city was founded in 1488. Shown on the page: Mahadevi, the Great Goddess, about 1725; ink, opaque watercolour and silver on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (38039), public domain. ## From manuscripts to the courts Painting in the region begins with illustrated Jain manuscripts. The court styles that made Rajasthan's name took shape in the sixteenth century and flourished for three hundred years. ## Four centuries in outline Jain manuscripts were painted in the region from at least the eleventh century, in a narrow horizontal format taken from palm-leaf books. An early Rajasthani style, known from the *Chaurapanchasika*, took shape in the sixteenth century. From the mid-sixteenth century the Rajput states formed close alliances with the Mughal empire, and Mughal painting grew more and more influential at their courts. The courts then developed their own schools, from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth: some of the earliest dated works are ragamala sets painted at Chawand in Mewar in 1605 and at Pali in Marwar in 1623. Under British rule, the courts' patronage declined, and many traditions had faded by the late nineteenth century. Some painters found new work painting for the British. ### In dates - **11th century on:** Jain manuscripts are painted in the region, in a narrow format taken from palm-leaf books. - **16th century:** An early Rajasthani style, known from the Chaurapanchasika, takes shape. - **Mid-16th century:** Rajput states ally with the Mughal empire, and Mughal painting begins to influence the courts. - **1605:** A ragamala is painted at Chawand, in Mewar: one of the earliest dated sets. - **1623:** A ragamala is painted at Pali, in Marwar. - **1649–1653:** The Mewar court's Ramayana is painted, with Sahibdin among its artists. - **1727:** Jaipur is founded as the new capital, replacing Amber. - **1735–1757:** Nihal Chand's most notable period at Kishangarh. - **Late 19th century:** Court patronage declines under British rule; some painters turn to work for the British. - **1916:** The scholar Ananda Coomaraswamy coins the term “Rajput painting”. - **2023:** “Nathdwara Pichhwai Painting” is registered as a Geographical Indication (certificate dated 31 July). - **2025:** An application is filed to register “Kishangarh Painting of Rajasthan” as a GI (26 December). ### What is documented, and what is told - **Told in Kishangarh:** that Bani Thani, a woman of Savant Singh's court, was the model for the Kishangarh Radha. Local tradition and some scholars hold that her features inspired the Kishangarh face; India's school textbook calls her his muse. It is widely believed but not documented. The painting is popularly called “the Indian Mona Lisa”, a name with colonial-era roots. - **Long debated:** that the pigment Indian yellow was made from the urine of cows fed on mango leaves. A 2018 scientific study notes the method has been debated since the nineteenth century, though recent research considers it the most likely one. - **Often repeated:** that the brushes have a single squirrel hair, and that every colour comes from precious stones. Sources describe brushes of camel and squirrel hair, colours that were mostly mineral, with gold and silver, and synthetic paints in wide use today. ## How a painting is made The stages below follow India's school textbook, museum records and conservators' accounts. Practice varies from workshop to workshop. 1. **The paper** (*Wasli*). Thin sheets of handmade paper are pasted together in layers to make a stiff, smooth card. 2. **The drawing**. The outline is drawn in black or brown. Copies were made by tracing and pouncing: the outline was pricked so it could be transferred to a new sheet. 3. **The colour**. Mineral pigments, gold and silver are mixed with a binder and laid in. In a workshop the artist might mark each area with the colour an assistant was to apply. 4. **The detail**. The finest work is done with very fine brushes. Painting was teamwork, and the master often added the final touches. 5. **Burnishing**. The painted surface is rubbed with an agate to give it an even sheen. ### A study, before the colour This drawing from Jodhpur shows the workshop at work. The Met notes that the paper has been pricked so that the image could be transferred, and that the artist marked each form with the colour he wanted his assistant to apply. Shown on the page: Preparatory Study for a Portrait of Man Singh and His Harem, Jodhpur, 1810–15; ink and opaque watercolour on paper, pricked for transfer. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (37878), public domain. ### Where the accounts differ - **Brushes:** India's school textbook names camel and squirrel hair. Conservators describe squirrel-hair brushes with curved tips; a craft documentation, brushes of a few strands of squirrel tail hair. - **Colours today:** Many painters now use synthetic poster and powder colours. Harvard researchers found Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment used in Rajasthani painting for over two centuries, in a Jaipur painter's palette. - **Binder:** India's school textbook says the pigments were bound with glue. Other accounts, and a Jaipur painter studied by Harvard researchers, use gum arabic. ## The painters Painting at the courts was teamwork. India's school textbook describes outlines, colouring and finishing shared between a master and his assistants, and at Bikaner, workshops under a master. Some painters signed their work, and a few are known by name. The tradition continues in Jaipur, Udaipur, Kishangarh and Nathdwara. At Nathdwara, the painters of *pichhwai* came primarily from the Adi Gaur, Jangid and Mewara communities, according to one craft encyclopedia; another account names only the first two. Researchers at Harvard have studied the palette of the Jaipur painter Babulal Marotia, who works with 42 colourants. We found no count of miniature painters working in Rajasthan today. This page does not yet carry their own accounts: none has been recorded with consent. ### Named in the record - **Nisardin:** Painted the Chawand ragamala for Mewar in 1605. Also given as Nasiruddin. - **Sahibdin:** Mewar, active about 1628 to 1653: a ragamala in 1628, a Bhagavata Purana in 1648, part of the Ramayana. - **Nihal Chand:** Kishangarh, most notable between 1735 and 1757. - **Sheikh Taju:** Kota. His study for a tiger hunt, 1780, is on this page. - **Ruknuddin and Nuruddin:** Bikaner, 17th century. ### Shilp Guru awards Awarded for miniature painting to painters from Rajasthan, from the government's statewise list of Shilp Guru awardees. - **2017:** Mohan Lal Soni - **2018:** Gopal Prasad Sharma - **2019:** Asharam Meghawal ## Buying a painting - **Painted on layered paper.** The traditional ground is wasli, handmade paper pasted in layers. Today painters also work on silk and other surfaces. - **Opaque colour, fine brushes.** Colour is laid on opaquely and the finest work is done with very fine brushes. - **A burnished surface.** Burnishing with an agate gives traditional work an even sheen. - **A court's own way of drawing.** The schools differ in faces, turbans, skies and colour. The section above shows how. ### Rajasthani painting and the traditions beside it | Tradition | What it is | Where it is from | | --- | --- | --- | | Rajasthani court painting | Paintings on paper for the courts of the plains, each with its own style | Mewar, Bundi, Kota, Kishangarh, Jaipur, Marwar, Bikaner | | Pahari painting | Paintings for the smaller hill courts, among them Kangra, Guler and Basohli | The Himalayan foothills | | Mughal painting | Made in the imperial workshops; known for intricacy and naturalism | The Mughal court | | Pichhwai | Painted cloth hung behind the deity in a shrine | Nathdwara, Rajasthan (GI, 2023) | | Phad | Scroll painting, believed to have begun at Shahpura | The Mewar region, Rajasthan (GI applied for) | ### Before you buy, and after - **Ask how it was made.** Ask whether a painting is by hand, by whom, on what paper and with what colours. Mineral and synthetic colours are both in use; neither is wrong, but you should know which you are buying. - **Old paper is not an old painting.** Painters today sometimes work on old handmade paper bought from waste-paper sellers, and age it further. A painting can look old without being so. - **Antiques and the law.** Under India's Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, a painting at least 100 years old is an antiquity (an illustrated manuscript at 75 years), and only the Central Government or an agency it authorises may export one, under permit. For new work, the Archaeological Survey of India issues certificates of non-antiquity for export. - **Prints and copies.** Printed reproductions are sold widely. We found no reliable published test for telling a good print from a painting by eye, so ask for the painter's name and look closely before you buy. - **Looking after it.** The Library of Congress advises little light and never direct sun, a cool room at about 35% humidity, and acid-free mounts. Conservators in Udaipur describe paint cracking and flaking as the binder weakens with age, and humidity swings moving the paper. - **What a GI covers.** There is no registered GI for Rajasthani miniature painting as a whole. Nathdwara pichhwai has one; Kishangarh painting and Phad have applied. ### Official recognition **Nathdwara Pichhwai Painting** (Geographical Indication, registered). - **Application no.:** 748 - **Applicant:** Mewad Art and Craft Sansthan - **Filed:** 12 April 2021 - **Certificate:** Dated 31 July 2023 - [GI Registry entry](https://search.ipindia.gov.in/GIRPublicSearch/Application/Details/748) **Kishangarh Painting of Rajasthan** (Geographical Indication, applied for (pre-examination)). - **Application no.:** 1749 - **Applicant:** Eco Craft Development Society, Jaipur - **Filed:** 26 December 2025 - [GI Registry entry](https://search.ipindia.gov.in/GIRPublicSearch/Application/Details/1749) **Phad Painting** (Geographical Indication, applied for (examination)). - **Application no.:** 1265 - **Applicant:** Chitran Kala Seva Sansthan, Shahpura - **Filed:** 11 June 2024 - [GI Registry entry](https://search.ipindia.gov.in/GIRPublicSearch/Application/Details/1265) Register read on 16 October 2026. We found no registered GI for Rajasthani miniature painting as a whole. ## Miniature work at Karigarh Karigarh's Paintings category has no paintings listed at the moment. The pieces below are marble and wooden objects painted with miniature-style motifs. Each listing states its materials. They are painted objects, not paintings on paper. To ask about a painting, write to us. - [Search the catalogue](https://www.karigarh.com/products?search=miniature) - [All craft stories](https://www.karigarh.com/crafts) - [Ask about a painting](https://www.karigarh.com/ContactUs) Prices include GST. Ships within India. See the [return policy](https://www.karigarh.com/ReturnPolicy). ## Miniature painting, briefly answered ### What is Rajasthani miniature painting? Painting on paper made for the Rajput courts of Rajasthan, mostly between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Each court, among them Mewar, Bundi, Kota, Kishangarh, Jaipur, Marwar and Bikaner, developed its own style. The paintings illustrate poetry, music, religious texts and court life. ### Why is it called miniature? For their small scale and fine detail. Some writers question the word, which was first used in India in the colonial period. Not every work is small: Jaipur also produced life-size portraits. ### What are the main schools? Mewar (Udaipur), Bundi, Kota, Kishangarh, Jaipur (from Amber), Marwar (Jodhpur) and Bikaner. Scholars also discuss Malwa and smaller centres. Each is recognised by its way of drawing faces, turbans, skies and colour. ### What is wasli? The traditional ground: thin sheets of handmade paper pasted together in layers to make a stiff, smooth card. ### Are the colours natural? Historically, the colours were mostly mineral pigments, with gold and silver. Many painters today use synthetic paints. Ask the seller which a painting uses. ### Who was Bani Thani? A woman of the court of Savant Singh of Kishangarh, the muse of his poetry. Local tradition and some scholars hold that her features were the model for the Kishangarh Radha painted by Nihal Chand. It is widely believed but not documented. ### Does Rajasthani miniature painting have a GI tag? Not as a whole. Nathdwara Pichhwai Painting was registered as a GI in 2023. Applications for Kishangarh Painting of Rajasthan (2025) and Phad Painting (2024) were pending when we checked the register on 16 October 2026: Kishangarh at pre-examination, Phad at examination. ### Can I take an old painting out of India? A painting at least 100 years old is an antiquity under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 (an illustrated manuscript at 75 years), and only the Central Government or an agency it authorises may export it, under permit. For new work, the Archaeological Survey of India issues certificates of non-antiquity for export. ### How do I look after a painting on paper? Keep it out of direct light, in a cool room with steady humidity (the Library of Congress suggests about 35%), in an acid-free mount. Changes in humidity move the paper and can loosen the paint. Written by Karigarh. Updated October 2026. Sources on request: [write to us](https://www.karigarh.com/ContactUs).