Patronage, Painting, Poetry, and Prestige in the Princely States of Gujarat: Maharajas, Rajas, and Nawabs of Gujarat Series Volume 3

With over 350 illustrations this volume attempts to look into the development of art and culture in Gujarat, under the patronage of its ruling princes and chiefs. The sections of the book cover princely patronage, wall paintings, miniature paintings, poetry, and heraldic prestige. Considering the fact that there were hundreds of principalities in Gujarat, this volume cannot be exhaustive and even some prominent states like Rajpipla and Palanpur remain unrepresented. But we have done our best to bring out the essence of just how important the princely patronage was in the development of art and culture in the region. Gujarat in Western India has been a wonderful confluence of diverse cultures. This should come as no surprise, as for the last five thousand years, Gujarat has been India’s window to the world. From the Harappan merchants who traded with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia to the enterprising Gujaratis who established motels in the United States in 1960–70s, each group has taken a part of Gujarati culture to the world and brought a part of the global culture back to Gujarat. This uniqueness can be seen in its art, music, poetry, crafts, and architecture. During the 1960s, excavations were conducted at Fustat near Cairo which revealed 600 to 800 year old fragments of cloth, perfectly preserved in the arid Egyptian desert. A further investigation revealed that it was a piece of block printed Ajrak cloth from Gujarat, the oldest specimen of its kind in the world. The designs and motifs found on the Fustat fragment are still in use even today. The list of Gujarat’s art and crafts is large and varied, ranging from Rogan art from Kutch and Tangalia shawls from Surendranagar to wooden furniture from the village of Sankheda, and exquisite silverwares from Bhuj.Gujarat’s rulers—the Sultans, Thakurs, and Maharajas—were great patrons of art, poetry, and architecture. There are two UNESCO World Heritage12 Patronage, Painting, Poetry, and Prestige in the Princely States of Gujarat sites in Gujarat, the Champaner-Pavagadh archeological complex, known for its unique synthesis of Hindu-Jain-Islamic architecture and the walled city of Ahmedabad. Both these sites trace their origins to the patronage of the Sultans of Gujarat. By the nineteenth century, Gujarat was divided into hundreds of tiny principalities and jurisdictions, whose rulers vied with each other for patronage of artists, poets and craftsmen. Gujarat’s princely cities such as Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Bhuj, Surat, and Baroda are culturally prominent even today. Read more