Lot 107
IN THE STYLE OF THE ARTIST CHOKHA: A ROYAL COUPLE EMBRACING ON A TERRACE
INDIA, RAJASTHAN, DEVGARH, CIRCA 1810-1820
Auction: 09 December 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
gouache on paper heightened in gold, a royal couple embracing on a terrace, the prince offering his consort a small gold cup as they rest against gold brocade bolsters, both adorned with jewels and wearing richly gold-embroidered garments, a palace pavilion in the background
Dimensions
15.4cm x 10.5cm
Provenance
Prominent North London collection.
Footnote
The rulers of Devgarh, a small principality 126km north of the capital city Udaipur, were close to the powerful maharanas of Mewar and were major patrons of painting in Rajasthan. Bagta, a young artist working in the Mewar studio, left Udaipur in the second half of the eighteenth century to seek patronage at the Devgarh court. He was an important Rajasthani artist and a major influence on his two sons, Kavala and Chokha. Bagta was succeeded by Choka at the court of Raja Gokul Das II (r. 1786-1821), who latterly in his reign was a great patron of the arts, providing support to Bagta who introduced to Devgarh new techniques of painting and subjects for the studio. Although Devgarh is a small kingdom in Rajasthan, it is particularly significant in the history of Indian painting from the 1760s until the 1830s, and Bagta and his sons Chokha and Kavala are two exceptional and important artists working in Mewar at this time.
For further comparisons and discussions, see: A. Topsfield, Paintings from Rajasthan, Melbourne, 1980, nos. 206, 207, 210, 211, 2112, 213, 216, 217, 219 and 2332; M.C. Beach and Rawat Nahar Singh II, Rajasthani Painters Bagta and Chokha Master Artists at Devgarh, Zurich, 2005; J. Williams (ed.) Kingdom of the Sun Indian Court and Village from the Princely State of Mewar, San Francisco, 2007, nos. 22-48; M.C. Beach, (John Seyller ed.), Rajasthani Paintings in the Jagdish and Kamla Museum of Indian Art, Hyderabad, 2015, pp. 56-81; R. Crill and K. Jariwala, The Indian Portrait 1560-1860, London, 2010, no. 38, and; D. Diamond and D. Khera, A splendid Land Paintings from Royal Udaipur, Washinghton , DC, 2022, pp. 128, 138, 218,224,327,342.372 (no. 14) and 378 (no.8).