SIKH INTEREST: AN EQUESTRIAN PORTRAIT OF THE SIXTH GURU HARGOBIND (R.1606-1645)
INDIA, JAMMU DISTRICT, KASHTWAR, CIRCA 1700
£156,451
Auction: Indian Paintings from the Collection of William & Mildred Archer | Lots 84 to 152 | 12 June at 10am
Description
gouache and gold on paper, laid down on card, inscribed in black centre top in Takri, depicting Guru Hargobind in a white jama with patterned gold sprigs, he is wearing a string of pearls, and his belt is fastened with a dagger and a sword by his side, his left hand holds the reins whilst his right hand is gloved and holds a white hawk, his grey stallion is richly caparisoned and wears a gold aigret with grey plume above his bridle, all against a gold ground, mounted, glazed and framed
Dimensions
Folio: 26.5cm x 21.6cm (10 3/8 x 8½in).
Provenance
The Archer reference is A-1, probably indicating the first miniature painting William Archer acquired, in the 1930s/40s.
Footnote
Exhibited:
Loan to Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, from 1994 to 2004, no. 4.
Note:
Raja Hargobind was the sixth of the ten Sikh Gurus inheriting his father's position at the age of eleven in 1606 when his father was murdered. Raja Hargobind was a fine military commander determined to protect the Sikh people, possibly as a reaction to his father's death. He was skilled in the arts of swordsmanship and falconry and it was through his leadership that a military tradition was founded in the Sikh faith. He was a cultured linguist and developed many interests in the sciences contributing to the success of his reign. A similar although earlier portrait of Raja Hargobind is in the Sodhi collection at Kartapur in the Punjab.
Kashtwar is a small district in the state of Jammu . For comparison, see W.G. Archer, op. cit., London, 1973, Vol. I, pp. 311-314 and Vol. II, p. 236, no. 1.