Attributed to Nainsukh, Raja Balwant Singh’s Hunt, India, Jasrota; 1752. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 29.3 x 39.9 cm. Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, Friends of the Fogg Art Museum Fund, 1957.98. Photo: Allan Macintyre, HUAM. © President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Hunting-the pursuit of wild animals for food-is one of humanity's oldest forms of social organization and the inspiration for some of our earliest efforts at visual art. By uniting lands from Spain to India, the Muslim conquests brought together different practices and thematic associations for the hunt that had developed on three continents over millennia. In India, the Kshattriya or warrior class, were most receptive to the ideals and activities of the hunt, and Hindu princes commissioned superb depictions of this subject. Through a presentation of paintings, ceramics, decorative arts, and weaponry, The Sport of Kings will explore the rich traditions of the hunt in West and South Asia. This exhibition will focus on forms of hunting, such as pursuit of game with cheetah, dogs, and falcons, and on thematic associations between hunting, warfare, and kingship.

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