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The City Palace in Jaipur was established in 1727 by one of the most distinguished figures in Indian history, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who is remembered today as a statesman and astronomer. From the date of its foundation until 1949, his palace served as the main residence of Sawai Jai Singh’s successors and as the centre of the Jaipur court administration. Today the palace includes a privately owned museum of courtly arts. Historically one of India ’s most important royal complexes, Jaipur City Palace was always much more than the residence of a maharaja. It was also a site of religious ritual, a place of entertainment, a centre of politics and court ceremony, and a source of patronage for music, literature, dance and painting. This book describes and illustrates the palace buildings and the many activities that they accommodated. About the Author Leading experts on the history and buildings of Jaipur, Vibhuti Sachdev and Giles Tillotson have been visiting and studying the city for over twenty years. Their earlier books include an account of its planning ( Building Jaipur: the Making of an Indian City ) and a popular history of the state ( Jaipur Nama ). The present book is the outcome of further research in the archives of the City Palace Museum . Vibhuti Sachdev trained as an architect in New Delhi before embarking on a career in research, by studying and later teaching in the Universities of London and Sussex . She has also worked as a designer and as a consultant on conservation projects. Giles Tillotson trained in art history and Oriental studies at Cambridge University . He subsequently taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies ( London ) where he was Reader in History of Art, specializing on India .