MINIATURES FROM THE COURTS OF BUNDELKHAND

This book about miniature painting at the Bundelkhand royal courts of Orchha, Datia and Panna offers fresh insight into the origins of these exquisite paintings. The miniature school of Bundelkhand, which first developed at Orchha, was the earliest and most Indian of all the Rajput schools. At the time of its founding, it was the only one to practise a purely indigenous style of painting, with none of the naturalism of imperial Mughal art. The author’s interpretation and stylistic analysis of over 240 paintings from this collection, many of them published here for the first time, shed light on the school’s development from the late 16th century to the early days of British rule.

The book also introduces readers to the conceptual world of Rajput miniature painting and the rasa aesthetic. The author, Phil Konrad Seitz, is among the most important private collectors of Indian miniature paintings worldwide.

Konrad Seitz

253pp, ~4,500; Niyogi Books