A PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAHARAJA
INDIA, RAJASTHAN, MARWAR, 19TH CENTURY
Estimate: £1,000 - £1,500
Auction: 11 June 2025 from 10:00 BST
Description
drawing on buff paper with use of gouache and gold, head and shoulders of the young maharaja facing left, wearing a yellow turban adorned with jewels and a jewelled sarpech, rows of pearls and pendants with emeralds and rubies around his neck, his left hand slightly raised as if he was holding a flower or a jigha, mounted, glazed and framed
Dimensions
sight size: 17.2cm x 11.4cm
Footnote
Portraits executed at Marwar, the state surrounding Jodhpur, were popular during the reign of Maharaja Bakht Singh (r. 1751-1753)and this portrait of a young maharaja decorated with jewels, befitting his status, is a fine example. Marwari Court artists were influenced by the work of seventeenth Mughal artists and continued the tradition into the eighteenth century. For a comparable work see, D. Mason, T. McInerney, J. Seyller and E. Smart, Intimate Worlds, Indian Paintings from the Alvin O. Bellak Collection, Philadelphia, 2001, no. 57.