Maharaja Abhai Singh of Marwar (r. 1724–49), Equestrian, Watching Girls Swinging at the Teej Festival

c. 1740

Maharaja Abhai Singh of Marwar (r. 1724–49), Equestrian, Watching Girls Swinging at the Teej Festival, c. 1740. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Marwar, Rajput Kingdom of Jodhpur. Gum tempera and gold on paper; miniature: 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. A group of horses can be seen bathing in the pond.