Prince
Bhawani Singh of Sitamau (r. 1867-1885) with his escort out riding during
the reign of his grandfather Maharaja Raj Singh (r. 1802-1867)
Sitamau, Central India, dated V.S. 1912/1855 A.D.
Gouache on paper with gold with gold;
365 by 470 mm.; 14 3/8 by 18 ½ in.
Provenance
Sotheby's, London, 10.XII.1974, lot 86
Galerie Soustiel, Paris, 1974-1983
Private collection, Paris, 1983-2007
Inscriptions
The principal figures are identified by Devanagri inscriptions (available on request).
On
the reverse:
A six-line git or song evidently in praise of the prince. A painting
dated 1847, of Bhawani Singh’s father Ratan Singh, formerly in the
Ehrenfeld collection, has two such poems of praise by different poets
written on its reverse, see D. J. Ehnbom, Indian Miniatures: The Ehrenfeld
Collection, New York, 1985, p. 172, no. 81.
A
second inscription in a cursive hand refers to the prince as bhavar-ji
(grandson) and gives his age as eighteen years (umar varsha 18), the
name of the horse, Rajragyo, and the date as the first of the bright
half of the month of Paus 1912, which equates to December 1855.
Published
Oriental
Manuscripts and Miniatures, Sotheby’s, London, 10th December 1974,
p.19, lot 86
Soustiel, J. and M.-C. David, Miniatures Orientales de l’Inde III,
exhibition catalogue, Paris, 1983, p.107, no. 127