Joan Ketelaar’s Embassy to the King of Udaipur

In 1711 the VOC sent a delegation to India’s most important ruler, the Mughal emperor. Joan Josua Ketelaar, an expert in the Hindustani and the Persian language, was in charge. En route the mission passed through the city of Udaipur and was received by the local ruler. Here Ketelaar and the Indian king sit in a pavilion. For decades to come, Indian painters in Udaipur continued to paint the exotic Dutchmen based on this visit.