Fit for Kings

Members of erstwhile royal families display their artwork alongside that of craftspeople from their regions

The sacred animal has now been entrusted with another task it is a mascot for the miniature artists of Kishangarh,promoting their talent in the commercial art circuit. For them,the cow occupies the foreground,it is dressed in gold,with tassels hanging down its horns,and a peacock feather perched on the head. The school of art thrives on group effort,where each person specialises in one task,from background to painting the motif,embellishment and so on, says Sarveshwari Kumari. The desire to find a market for miniatures by local artists led her sister Vaishnavi to establish Studio Kishangarh in 2008. We introduced themes and products such as home and personal accessories and stationary, says Sarveshwari. Some of these products are being showcased

in Delhi as part of the exhibition Royal Fables at The Foyer,One Style Mile,Mehrauli.

In its fifth edition,the exhibition brings together design,art and craft by seven present-day nobles along with craftspeople from their region. Artists of noble backgrounds create rich art that is modern,but with an eye on the past. Their third eye is always lead by their own inherited creativity and thats what makes this art unique, says curator Sunaina Anand.

The extensive display includes miniature art presented by Tikarani Shailaja Katoch from Kangra and automotive art by Rajkumari Vidita Singh of Barwani,who has painted vintage cars. The relationship between the royalty and wildlife will surface in artwork by Kanwarani Padmini Sinh of Chhota Udaipur and Aapji Vikramaditya Singh of Jammu and Kashmir. Princess Krishna Kumari of Panna has worked on enamel and ceramics and Yuvraj Vikramaditya Singh of Jammu and Kashmir is presenting his photographs of the Valley. It is interesting to see how the artwork is influenced by their heritage and lifestyle, says Anand,who has also culled metal sculptures and landscapes by Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad,who expired last year.

Apart from bringing together craft from the royal stable,the initiative also addresses a social cause,supporting the rights of the girl child in Punjab. To collect funds for patronage,seven designers and artists will create products inspired by phulkari. This includes hand-painted dupattas by Rajkumari Alkarani Singh of Pratapgarh,organic cotton kurtas by Kanwarani Kamini Singh of Seohara,silk stoles by Rajkumari Gitanjali Shah of Tehri Garhwal,digitally printed kurtas by Rimple and Harpreet Narula and wine covers by Puneet Gupta,all inspired by the phulkari embroidery. Yet another merger of traditional and modern,from royalty to the rest? Perhaps.

The exhibition is on at The Foyer,Olive Compound,Mehrauli,till October 20

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram