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Rao Bika Rathore established one of the most prominent kingdoms of Rajasthan, Bikaner in 1488. During his reign, Anup Singh (1669-1698) instituted a library in Bikaner that became a repository of manuscripts and paintings. As a result of long associations with the Mughals, Bikaner developed a distinctive language of miniature painting that was influenced by the Mughal elegance and a subdued colour palette. In Anup Singh's reign, Ruknuddin, whose ancestors came from the Mughal court, was the master artist, whose style was an amalgamation of the indigenous idiom with Deccani and Mughal conventions. He painted significant texts, such as the Ramayana, Rasikapriya and Durga Saptsati.

A prevailing practice in Bikaner was to set up studios called Mandi, where a group of artists worked under the supervision of a master artist. From inscriptions, it can be gathered that Ruknuddin, Ibrahim and Nathu managed some of these professional studios. On the completion of a painting, the court archivist entered the name of the master artist and the date behind the painting, which resulted in the name of the master artist being inscribed on the works of his students, who may not have necessarily painted in the same style. However, master artists would occasionally put finishing touches to the paintings, in a process called "gudarayi", literally meaning "to lift". Apart from its activities of making new miniatures, the studio was also entrusted with the practice of making "marammat" or repairing and also making "nakal" or copies of older works.

The custom of having portraits of artists is unique to the Bikaner school and most of them are inscribed with information regarding their ancestry. They are referred to as "ustas" or "ustads". Ruknuddin painted exquisite works in soft colour tones. Ibrahim's works have a misty, dreamlike quality, with dainty figures and heavily modeled faces. His studio appears to be the most prolific, as his name occurs on different sets of Baramasa, Ragamala and Rasikapriya.

Rao Bika Rathore established one of the most prominent kingdoms of Rajasthan, Bikaner in 1488. During his reign, Anup Singh (1669-1698) instituted a library in Bikaner that became a repository of manuscripts and paintings. As a result of long associations with the Mughals, Bikaner developed a distinctive language of miniature painting that was influenced by the Mughal elegance and a subdued colour palette. In Anup Singh's reign, Ruknuddin, whose ancestors came from the Mughal court, was the master artist, whose style was an amalgamation of the indigenous idiom with Deccani and Mughal conventions. He painted significant texts, such as the Ramayana, Rasikapriya and Durga Saptsati.

A prevailing practice in Bikaner was to set up studios called Mandi, where a group of artists worked under the supervision of a master artist. From inscriptions, it can be gathered that Ruknuddin, Ibrahim and Nathu managed some of these professional studios. On the completion of a painting, the court archivist entered the name of the master artist and the date behind the painting, which resulted in the name of the master artist being inscribed on the works of his students, who may not have necessarily painted in the same style. However, master artists would occasionally put finishing touches to the paintings, in a process called "gudarayi", literally meaning "to lift". Apart from its activities of making new miniatures, the studio was also entrusted with the practice of making "marammat" or repairing and also making "nakal" or copies of older works.

The custom of having portraits of artists is unique to the Bikaner school and most of them are inscribed with information regarding their ancestry. They are referred to as "ustas" or "ustads". Ruknuddin painted exquisite works in soft colour tones. Ibrahim's works have a misty, dreamlike quality, with dainty figures and heavily modeled faces. His studio appears to be the most prolific, as his name occurs on different sets of Baramasa, Ragamala and Rasikapriya.

Rao Bika Rathore established one of the most prominent kingdoms of Rajasthan, Bikaner in 1488. During his reign, Anup Singh (1669-1698) instituted a library in Bikaner that became a repository of manuscripts and paintings. As a result of long associations with the Mughals, Bikaner developed a distinctive language of miniature painting that was influenced by the Mughal elegance and a subdued colour palette. In Anup Singh's reign, Ruknuddin, whose ancestors came from the Mughal court, was the master artist, whose style was an amalgamation of the indigenous idiom with Deccani and Mughal conventions. He painted significant texts, such as the Ramayana, Rasikapriya and Durga Saptsati.

A prevailing practice in Bikaner was to set up studios called Mandi, where a group of artists worked under the supervision of a master artist. From inscriptions, it can be gathered that Ruknuddin, Ibrahim and Nathu managed some of these professional studios. On the completion of a painting, the court archivist entered the name of the master artist and the date behind the painting, which resulted in the name of the master artist being inscribed on the works of his students, who may not have necessarily painted in the same style. However, master artists would occasionally put finishing touches to the paintings, in a process called "gudarayi", literally meaning "to lift". Apart from its activities of making new miniatures, the studio was also entrusted with the practice of making "marammat" or repairing and also making "nakal" or copies of older works.

The custom of having portraits of artists is unique to the Bikaner school and most of them are inscribed with information regarding their ancestry. They are referred to as "ustas" or "ustads". Ruknuddin painted exquisite works in soft colour tones. Ibrahim's works have a misty, dreamlike quality, with dainty figures and heavily modeled faces. His studio appears to be the most prolific, as his name occurs on different sets of Baramasa, Ragamala and Rasikapriya.

Rao Bika Rathore established one of the most prominent kingdoms of Rajasthan, Bikaner in 1488. During his reign, Anup Singh (1669-1698) instituted a library in Bikaner that became a repository of manuscripts and paintings. As a result of long associations with the Mughals, Bikaner developed a distinctive language of miniature painting that was influenced by the Mughal elegance and a subdued colour palette. In Anup Singh's reign, Ruknuddin, whose ancestors came from the Mughal court, was the master artist, whose style was an amalgamation of the indigenous idiom with Deccani and Mughal conventions. He painted significant texts, such as the Ramayana, Rasikapriya and Durga Saptsati.

A prevailing practice in Bikaner was to set up studios called Mandi, where a group of artists worked under the supervision of a master artist. From inscriptions, it can be gathered that Ruknuddin, Ibrahim and Nathu managed some of these professional studios. On the completion of a painting, the court archivist entered the name of the master artist and the date behind the painting, which resulted in the name of the master artist being inscribed on the works of his students, who may not have necessarily painted in the same style. However, master artists would occasionally put finishing touches to the paintings, in a process called "gudarayi", literally meaning "to lift". Apart from its activities of making new miniatures, the studio was also entrusted with the practice of making "marammat" or repairing and also making "nakal" or copies of older works.

The custom of having portraits of artists is unique to the Bikaner school and most of them are inscribed with information regarding their ancestry. They are referred to as "ustas" or "ustads". Ruknuddin painted exquisite works in soft colour tones. Ibrahim's works have a misty, dreamlike quality, with dainty figures and heavily modeled faces. His studio appears to be the most prolific, as his name occurs on different sets of Baramasa, Ragamala and Rasikapriya.

Rao Bika Rathore established one of the most prominent kingdoms of Rajasthan, Bikaner in 1488. During his reign, Anup Singh (1669-1698) instituted a library in Bikaner that became a repository of manuscripts and paintings. As a result of long associations with the Mughals, Bikaner developed a distinctive language of miniature painting that was influenced by the Mughal elegance and a subdued colour palette. In Anup Singh's reign, Ruknuddin, whose ancestors came from the Mughal court, was the master artist, whose style was an amalgamation of the indigenous idiom with Deccani and Mughal conventions. He painted significant texts, such as the Ramayana, Rasikapriya and Durga Saptsati.

A prevailing practice in Bikaner was to set up studios called Mandi, where a group of artists worked under the supervision of a master artist. From inscriptions, it can be gathered that Ruknuddin, Ibrahim and Nathu managed some of these professional studios. On the completion of a painting, the court archivist entered the name of the master artist and the date behind the painting, which resulted in the name of the master artist being inscribed on the works of his students, who may not have necessarily painted in the same style. However, master artists would occasionally put finishing touches to the paintings, in a process called "gudarayi", literally meaning "to lift". Apart from its activities of making new miniatures, the studio was also entrusted with the practice of making "marammat" or repairing and also making "nakal" or copies of older works.

The custom of having portraits of artists is unique to the Bikaner school and most of them are inscribed with information regarding their ancestry. They are referred to as "ustas" or "ustads". Ruknuddin painted exquisite works in soft colour tones. Ibrahim's works have a misty, dreamlike quality, with dainty figures and heavily modeled faces. His studio appears to be the most prolific, as his name occurs on different sets of Baramasa, Ragamala and Rasikapriya.

Mr. Utterson, the lawyer was a man of rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye; something indeed which never found its way into his talk, but which spoke not only in these silent symbols of the after-dinner face, but more often and loudly in the acts of his life. He was austere with himself; and though he enjoyed the theater, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years. But he had an approved tolerance for others; sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds; and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove. It was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men. And to such as these, so long as they came about his chambers, he never marked a shade of change in his demeanour.

No doubt the feat was easy to Mr. Utterson; for he was undemonstrative at the best, and even his friendship seemed to be founded in a similar catholicity of good-nature. It is the mark of a modest man to accept his friendly circle ready-made from the hands of opportunity; and that was the lawyer's way. His friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object. Hence, no doubt, this was the bond that united him to Mr. Richard Enfield, his distant kinsman, the well-known man about town.

Mr. Utterson, the lawyer was a man of rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye; something indeed which never found its way into his talk, but which spoke not only in these silent symbols of the after-dinner face, but more often and loudly in the acts of his life. He was austere with himself; and though he enjoyed the theater, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years. But he had an approved tolerance for others; sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds; and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove. It was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men. And to such as these, so long as they came about his chambers, he never marked a shade of change in his demeanour.

No doubt the feat was easy to Mr. Utterson; for he was undemonstrative at the best, and even his friendship seemed to be founded in a similar catholicity of good-nature. It is the mark of a modest man to accept his friendly circle ready-made from the hands of opportunity; and that was the lawyer's way. His friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object. Hence, no doubt, this was the bond that united him to Mr. Richard Enfield, his distant kinsman, the well-known man about town.

Mr. Utterson, the lawyer was a man of rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye; something indeed which never found its way into his talk, but which spoke not only in these silent symbols of the after-dinner face, but more often and loudly in the acts of his life. He was austere with himself; and though he enjoyed the theater, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years. But he had an approved tolerance for others; sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds; and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove. It was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men. And to such as these, so long as they came about his chambers, he never marked a shade of change in his demeanour.

No doubt the feat was easy to Mr. Utterson; for he was undemonstrative at the best, and even his friendship seemed to be founded in a similar catholicity of good-nature. It is the mark of a modest man to accept his friendly circle ready-made from the hands of opportunity; and that was the lawyer's way. His friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object. Hence, no doubt, this was the bond that united him to Mr. Richard Enfield, his distant kinsman, the well-known man about town.

Mr. Utterson, the lawyer was a man of rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye; something indeed which never found its way into his talk, but which spoke not only in these silent symbols of the after-dinner face, but more often and loudly in the acts of his life. He was austere with himself; and though he enjoyed the theater, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years. But he had an approved tolerance for others; sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds; and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove. It was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men. And to such as these, so long as they came about his chambers, he never marked a shade of change in his demeanour.

No doubt the feat was easy to Mr. Utterson; for he was undemonstrative at the best, and even his friendship seemed to be founded in a similar catholicity of good-nature. It is the mark of a modest man to accept his friendly circle ready-made from the hands of opportunity; and that was the lawyer's way. His friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object. Hence, no doubt, this was the bond that united him to Mr. Richard Enfield, his distant kinsman, the well-known man about town.

Mr. Utterson, the lawyer was a man of rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye; something indeed which never found its way into his talk, but which spoke not only in these silent symbols of the after-dinner face, but more often and loudly in the acts of his life. He was austere with himself; and though he enjoyed the theater, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years. But he had an approved tolerance for others; sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds; and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove. It was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men. And to such as these, so long as they came about his chambers, he never marked a shade of change in his demeanour.

No doubt the feat was easy to Mr. Utterson; for he was undemonstrative at the best, and even his friendship seemed to be founded in a similar catholicity of good-nature. It is the mark of a modest man to accept his friendly circle ready-made from the hands of opportunity; and that was the lawyer's way. His friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object. Hence, no doubt, this was the bond that united him to Mr. Richard Enfield, his distant kinsman, the well-known man about town.