Lot 109
A PORTRAIT OF MAHARANA SARUP SINGH RECEIVING RAOS LAXMAN SINGH AND BAKHT SINGH ‡
SIGNED AND DATED, AMBAVA 1845, INDIA, RAJASTHAN, MEWAR
Auction: 09 December 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
gouache on paper heightened in gold, Maharana Swarup Singh of Mewar receiving Rao Lakshman Singh of Parsoli and Rao Baghat Singh of Bedla on a palace terrace, the ruler seated against a bolster, a halo about his head, wearing a white jama and red-striped turban decorated with a jewelled aigrette, rows of pearls and precious gems about his neck, a shield resting against his knees, the visiting princes kneeling before the ruler, two attendants standing to the left holding morchals, green border with yellow and black margin rules, nagari inscription at top on outer border reading ‘In honour of the meeting of then ruler Maharana Swarup Singh of Mewar and two noble men of his kingdom Rao Laksman Singhji of Parsoli and Rao Baghat Singhji of Bedla by the painter Ambava in the year V.S. 1903'.
Dimensions
Folio 27.6cm x 35.7cm, image 23.2cm x 31cm
Provenance
Formerly the collection of Edwin Hardy, San Francisco, California; acquired from auction by the present owner.
Private collection, Spain.
Footnote
This momentous meeting between Maharana Swarup Singh and two noblemen of his kingdom in 1845 has been well recorded by the artist Ambava, an important Mewar artist working in the studio of Tara, Swarup Singh's eminent artist at Udaipur. The detailed nagari inscription on the outer border adds to the historical significance. The maharana looks resplendent against a bolster on a carpet and the shield at his knees showing a radiant sun and the sun-god Surya reflect well his senior status amongst the rulers of Rajasthan.
The artist Ambava was recognised as a major Mewar artist, working in the studio of the court artist Tara. A charming portrait of Tara with his sons by the visiting artist William Carpenter is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Ambava, Tara's pupil, adopted much of his master's style and palette as reflected in the green background of this important portrait. Another painting by Ambava dated V.S.1909 / AD 1851 depicting Maharana Swarup Singh on an early morning boar hunt at Nahar Magra with Rao Lakshman Singhji of Parsoli following on a female elephant in the entourage is in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur. William Carpenter's famous portrait of Maharana Sarup Singh was also copied in 1852 by Ambava whose presence at the Mewar court was clearly valued with many royal commissions.
For further discussion and comparisons see: A.Topsfield, Paintings from Rajasthan in the National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne, 1980, p.14, fig.1, nos. 265-269, 273; A.Topsfield, The City Palace Museum, Udaipur: Paintings of Court Life, Ahmedabad, 1990, pp.88-93, nos, 31 and 32; A.Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the Patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, Zurich, 2002; J.P. Losty, Indian Court Painting, Forge and Lynch Exhibition Catalogue, London, 2019, no.37; D. Diamond and D. Khira, A Splendid Land Paintings from Royal Udaipur, Washington, DC, 2022, pp.162, 331-332, and; another painting by Ambava is in The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession no. 2019.123.