Description

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Maharaja Abhai Singh of Marwar (reigned 1724–49), Equestrian, Watching Girls Swinging at the Teej Festival, c. 1740. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Marwar region, Rajput kingdom of Jodhpur, court of Abhai Singh (reigned 1702–49). Gum tempera and gold on paper; painting: 29.9 x 19.4 cm (11 3/4 x 7 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.197

The festival of Teej is celebrated primarily by women in northern India and Nepal. The women sing and dance to welcome the monsoon season and observe fasts for the long life of their husbands. In the painting, two women can be seen playfully swinging on a tree branch while a group of women cheer for them.

The Teej Festival celebrates the coming of the monsoons that bring the rains essential for the crops and the kingdom’s prosperity. The timely arrival of the rains was considered divine confirmation of the king’s just rule. Traditionally during this festival, women and girls play on swings. In the river, girls swim with brass pots used for flotation, along with men, horses, and cows. As the person of highest rank, the king is the largest of all the figures, riding on a gorgeously ornamented horse.