Kalki Avatar of Vishnu

Kalki is described as either a white horse or a warrior on a white horse. In paintings from the Punjab Hills he is usually shown, as here, in the guise of a groom leading a white horse to a seated warrior with blue skin, the color traditionally associated with Vishnu. Several elements—the use of beetle-wing cases to simulate emeralds, the patterning of the saddle blanket, the profile of the throne legs, and the almond-shaped eyes—imply a Basohli provenance.

The visual description of the horse and groom suggests a date in the early eighteenth century, when the archaic poses of earlier works gave way to more naturalistic portrayals. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/37889