King and Queen in Swing Phad Painting by Kalyan Joshi

This Phad painting captures the enchanting motif of a King and Queen on a swing, a celebrated image in Indian art that embodies romance, idyllic joy, and courtly leisure. While the Phad tradition is most known for its long, horizontal scrolls narrating the epic sagas of folk deities like Pabuji and Devnarayan, its skilled Joshi painters also create individual works that draw on diverse subjects. Here, the royal couple is depicted with the quintessential Phad visual language: figures in crisp profile, featuring large, expressive eyes, rendered in bright, unshaded vegetable colours that fill the pictorial space with vivid energy.

This specific work is by Kalyan Joshi, a distinguished artist from the Joshi family of Shahpura, who are the hereditary painters of the Phad tradition. Phad paintings are distinct Rajasthani scroll narratives, prepared on a handmade cotton cloth base which is starched and burnished to a smooth, canvas-like surface. Artists meticulously prepare their own pigments from natural minerals and plants, ensuring the characteristic brilliance and longevity of the colours. Historically, these long scrolls served as a travelling temple for bhopa priest-singers, who would unfurled them to narrate the stories of folk deities, accompanied by music, across Rajasthan's villages.

This painting is a unique, one of a kind original, a testament to the artist's individual skill and vision, and is not a print. It ships with a signed Certificate of Authenticity, guaranteeing its provenance and handmade nature. We are pleased to offer complimentary insured delivery across India, ensuring this significant work arrives safely at its new home.