Visions of Paradise: Indian Court Paintings, Edited by Michael Ryan, Introduced by Senior Curator Asian Art at the NGV, Wayne Crothers, with scholarly essays by international experts, published by the National Gallery of Victoria 2018.

First edition, first printing hardback book with dustjacket, xii + 308 pages, illustrated throughout, no inscriptions, no tears or damage, near fine copy.

The artists of the Rajput royal courts produced some of the most richly decorated and exquisitely detailed paintings in the history of art. Evolving from the convergence of formal Persian painting traditions with the colourful indigenous Indian Jain and Hindu painting

styles, these works portrayed idealised, luxuriant visions of the lifestyle and spiritualism that existed within the Rajput courts.

In 1980, the NGV’s collection of Indian paintings was transformed by a hallmark acquisition of over 270 works through the Felton Bequest. This established the collection as the largest of its type in Australia and one of the leading collections of Indian paintings in the

world. This publication presents the NGV's internationally significant collection of Indian paintings in their totality for the first time, to accompany the 2018 exhibition of the same name.

Scenes of palace life include ceremonies, views into kings’ apartments and intimate glimpses into the secluded world of the zenana (women’s quarters). In portraiture, generations of Mewar kings feature alongside other Rajput and Mughal rulers. Religious themes include episodes from Hindu legends and

scenes of devotion, while large, immersive paintings depict epic hunting adventures, royal events, elephant fights, palaces and the sumptuous lifestyles of the maharajas and maharanas of Rajasthan.