Lot 38

A PORTRAIT OF MAHARAJA GAJ SINGH I (R. 1619-1638) ‡
MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1620





Auction: 10 December 2025 from 14:00 GMT
Description
gouache on paper heightened in gold, depicting the ruler facing to the left, dressed in a white jama and white pair of pantaloons, a gold katar secured inside his gold and floral patka, orange slippers, all against a light turquoise background, verso with a line of inscription in black nagari script, and a line in Persian script, mounted, glazed and framed
Dimensions
??cm x ??cm
Provenance
Art Curial, France, 16 November 2020.
The collection of a German enthusiast.
Footnote
Both the nagari and Persian scripts on the reverse of the painting identify the subject as ‘Raja Gaj Singh’. This is a rare portrait of the Maharaja and more so, because it is likely to have been produced during his life time. There is a later, posthumous portrait of the Maharaja in the British Museum, dated to circa 1675 (see accession no. 1920, 0917, 0.13.14).
Raj Singh I was the ruler of Marwar, and reigned from 1619-1638. Gaj Singh was a loyal Mughal ally and a capable Rajput ruler whose military service in the Deccan and against rebels earned him high imperial ranks, titles, and favour under both Jehangir and Shah Jahan.
For a very similar-style portrait depicting the Emperor Shah Jahan see Christie's, Arts of India, 26 May 2016, lot 7.




