Peacock in the Desert: the Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India

Centuries of royal treasures from Jodhpur, India, come to the United States for the first time in the new exhibition Peacock in the Desert.

Imagine yourself in the luxuriant royal spaces of India’s historic courtly life. Resplendent with brilliant paintings, lavishly made ceremonial objects, finely crafted arms and armor, sumptuous jewels, and intricately carved furnishings, Peacock in the Desert will transport you to the royal palace of Jodhpur, India.

Some 250 paintings, decorative arts, tents, canopies, carpets and other textiles, jewelry, and weapons will be presented beside large-scale photomurals which evoke the stunning setting of the Mehrangarh Museum in Jodhpur.

Many of these masterpieces and relics have not been seen beyond palace walls and most have never traveled to the United States. These treasures trace the evolving historical framework of royal identity in India from the 17th century to the establishment of independence after 1947 and reflect the artistic legacy of the Rathore dynasty, who ruled the Marwar-Jodhpur kingdom for more than seven centuries.

Drawn primarily from the collections of the Mehrangarh Fort Museum of Jodhpur and private collections of the Jodhpur royal family, this evocative exhibition illuminates hundreds of years of Indian courtly life.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website 

Image: Maharaja Abhai Singh on Horseback, c. 1725, Dalchand, Jodhpur, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, Mehrangarh Museum Trust, photo: Neil Greentree.

Whether or not you go, Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India is a beautiful book that presents nearly four centuries of artistic creation from one of the largest former princely states in India. It traces the evolution of royal identity in the kingdom of Marwar-Jodhpur in southwestern Rajasthan from the 17th century to the establishment of independence after 1947, presenting the area as a microcosm of India’s extraordinarily vibrant culture. An international team of contributors has contextualized these regional narratives in relation to external—and even global—forces. The book thus offers a new perspective on the acquisition and commissioning of objects through patronage, diplomacy, matrimonial alliances, trade, and conquest. It sheds fresh light on the influential role of women at the royal courts and examines monarchies as lenses onto cross-cultural relationships, the unrecognized roles of groups marginalized in earlier accounts, cultural heterodoxy, and large-scale multicultural exchange. Exploring these webs of connection, its multidisciplinary approach to artistic and cultural exchange offers pathbreaking insights, adding crucial chapters to the story of India’s royal visual splendor.

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