"In Royal Umbrellas of Stone : Memory, Politics, and Public Identity in Rajput Funerary Art, Melia Belli Bose provides the first analysis of Rajput chatrīs ('umbrellas'; cenotaphs) built between the sixteenth to early-twentieth centuries. New kings constructed chatrīs for their late fathers as statements legitimacy. During periods of political upheaval patrons introduced new forms and decorations to respond to current events and evoke a particular past. Offering detailed analyses of individual cenotaphs and engaging with art historical and epigraphic evidence, as well as ethnography and ritual, this book locates the chatrīs within their original social, political, and religious milieux. It also compares the chatrīs to other Rajput arts to understand how arts of different media targeted specific audiences"--Provided by publisher.

Chronological chart of Rajput and other dynasties -- Introduction: Rajputs and their royal umbrellas -- Interrupted continuities : the chatris of the Kachhwaha Rajputs of Amber and Jaipur -- Keeping up with the Kachhwahas : the chatris of the Narukas of Alwar, the Dadu Panthis, and the Shekhawati merchants -- A deceptive message of resistance : nostalgia and the early Jodha Rathores' renaissant devals -- Shifting allegiances, shifting styles : later Jodha Rathore memorials -- Devi Kund Sagar : the iconography of sati and its absence in Bikaner's chatris -- Eklingji's divine darbar : the Sisodia chatris of Mewar -- Conclusion: Beyond Rajasthan -- Glossary 299.