Art and Architecture of Bikaner

Dr. Goetz, as a student of Rajput art, has a long standing reputation of being a pioneer in the field, and few scholars would have been able to tackle the subject of this book: a survey of architecture, sculpture, painting and industrial arts of Bikaner, for these branches of art cover a vast period of time and offer a perplexing variety of types ranging from prehistoric pottery to 18th century swards and daggers. Dr. Goetz has provided an admirable description of the part the desert played in the forming the popular character of Rajput art. Founded in the late 15th century by a branch of the royal family of Jodhpur, Bikaner soon rose to importance when its rulers allied with the imperial armies of Akbar and his successors. And when the twilight of the Mughals set in, the desert made the Rajputs the cultural heirs of part of the Mughal art tradition. Bikaner Fort controlling the whole water supply of the neighborhood was completely impregnable and as a result Bikaner was the only Rajput state which was not captured by the Marathas or for that matter at any time by any other invader. Consequently it became a veritable treasure house of otherwise partly or completely lost material and traditions. For this reason this book by Dr. Goetz has deserved the fullest attention of the scholars, art lovers, art historians and general readers alike.