Bani Thani

Bani Thani was a singer and poet in Kishangarh in the time of Raja Sawant Singh (1748–1764), whose mistress she became.

A group of Indian paintings of around 1750 attributed to Nihâl Chand from the Marwar school of Kishangarh show Radha Krishna, using the same models, who are assumed to be Sawant Singh and Bani Thani.

[1] Bani Thani is depicted with elegant and graceful features, rather stylized, including arched eyebrows, lotus-like elongated eyes and pointed chin.

[6][7] The patron-king Savant Singh was a member of the Vallabhācārya sect devoted to Krishna, due to which religiously themed paintings flourished in the court under his patronage.

The paintings of Kishangarh school are characterised by a religious fervour and this might have been the reason why the portraiture of the queen was compared to, and is believed to have been inspired by, the figure of Radha.