Lot 111
111
Equestrian portrait of Maharaja Kumar Sri Rai Singh (r.4-25 April 1787) as a young prince
Lots which are Art Treasures under the Art and Ant… Read more REGISTERED ANTIQUITY - NON-EXPORTABLE
Equestrian portrait of Maharaja Kumar Sri Rai Singh (r.4-25 April 1787) as a young prince

BY ABU HAMID, INDIA, BIKANER, DATED VS 1811/1754 AD

Details
Equestrian portrait of Maharaja Kumar Sri Rai Singh (r.4-25 April 1787) as a young prince
By Abu Hamid, India, Bikaner, dated VS 1811/1754 AD
Superbly painted with the ten-year old future Maharaja wearing striped pyjama, angharka and luminous turban, the white horse bedecked with silver armor and heavy brocade trimmed with golden tassels, rearing on the banks of a lotus pond in a hilly landscape, a battle raging in the distance, full red margin with inner white rules, a band of devanagri in the upper margin, outer yellow border, the reverse with devanagri inscriptions, ownership stamp and librarian's signature
Opaque pigments and gold on paper
10 x 7¼ in. (25.7 x 18.6 cm.), painting
13½ x 10 in. (34.5 x 25.5 cm.), folio
Provenance
Royal Collection of Bikaner (no. 498), before 16 June 1964
Engraved
The inscription on the reverse in devanagri reads
Sabi maharaj kunwar shri Raj Singh ji re chhe Shriji Sahibji ri nazar Abu Hamid ro kivi samvat 1811- miti phalgun vadi 5
(Portrait of Maharaj Kunwar Shri Rai Singh ji presented to Shri Sahibji - work by Abu Hamid dated Phalgun 5th (March) 1754 AD)
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Lots which are Art Treasures under the Art and Antiquities Act 1972 cannot be exported outside India. Please note that lots are marked as a convenience to you and we shall not be liable for any errors in, or failure to, mark any lot.

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Lot Essay

The distinctive horse armour depicted in this painting is very closely related to that depicted in an equestrian portrait of his great-uncle Maharaja Sujan Singh of Bikaner (r. 1700-36). That painting is the work of the artist Ustad Qasim [probably the grandson of Ruknuddin, cf.Naval Krishna, 'The Umarani Master-Painters of Bikaner and their Genealogy, in Andrew Topsfield, (ed.), Court Painting in Rajasthan, (Marg vol.51, no.3), Mumbai, 2000, p.62] and dated to circa 1720. It was sold at Christie's Online Auction, India on Paper, 29 May - 12 June 2014, lot 533 (https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/india-on-paper/an-equestrian-portra it-of-raja-sujan-singh-r-1700-36-533/6634). It is also published by Catherine Glynn, 'Bijapur Themes in Bikaner Painting', in Andrew Topsfield (ed)., Court Painting in Rajasthan, Mumbai, 2000, no.7, p.72.

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