Air India Shikar
Designer
K. K. Save
Date1968
Dimensions40 x 25 in. (101.6 x 63.5 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.9638
DescriptionAir-India paid homage to its cultural heritage with various poster themes and designs. This poster, for example, is modeled after classical hunting scenes produced by the Kotah school of painting, named after the northern Indian state in Rajasthan in which they were made. Shikar, or hunting for sport, was enjoyed by members of the Indian nobility beginning in the 18th century. Maharajas, venerated for their courage, pursued big game, including tigers, lions, boars, and elephants, and often used the activity to entertain such visiting dignitaries as British officers and Mughal princes. Hunting was particularly popular in the Bundi and Kotah regions of Rajasthan, where the Rajput rulers regularly commissioned local artists to illustrate it. This poster incorporates a number of characteristic features of these paintings—the Maharaja astride his decorated horse; the attendants following him with morchal (a fly whisk made of peacock feathers) and parasol in hand; the stylized foliage dotting the landscape; the figures’ faces in profile with bodies in three-quarter view; and the red border with lettering in a yellow box.On View
Not on view
