Fashioning a National Art

Employing rare archival data, back-room surveys, and exhaustive research, Fashioning a National Art discusses how Sayajirao Gaekwad III not only patronized the local arts of Baroda but also mediated a cross-cultural dialogue between the European and indigenous art techniques. This book also presents a rarely documented aspect of Sayajirao - as the lender of the royal collection to regional and international exhibitions and a global tastemaker. Besides tracing the history of elite patrons, famous artists, and European sculptors such as Augusto Felici and Derwent Wood, it also delves into the stories of subalterns such as master ivory craftsman Neelakandan Asari, wood-worker Keshav Mistry, and others.