An equestrian portrait of a Nawab riding a grey stallion, signed by Muhammad Reza-i Hindi, Mughal, possibly Oudh, dated 1177 AH/1763-4 AD

gouache with gold on paper, signed and dated at mid-right, reverse with an illuminated page of nasta'liq calligraphy including a quatrain, gold rules, blue borders

Acquired by John Forbes (1743-1821) of Bellabeg, Aberdeenshire, an officer in the East India Company stationed in Bombay and Bengal from 1765-79, or by his nephew Sir Charles Forbes, also an officer in the East India Company, stationed in India until 1811.
By descent to Col. Sir John Forbes, Bt., D.S.O., D.L., (6^th Bt, 1901-84)
Sotheby’s London, 10 December 1962, lot 12
Maggs Bros., London
Sotheby’s London, 17 December 1969, lot 13
Christie's London, 29 April 1970, lot 131 A
Private UK collection since 1970

This painting is referenced in T. Falk and M. Archer, Indian Miniatures in the India Office Library, London, 1981, no.211, p.126, and J.Losty and L. Leach, Mughal Paintings from the British Library, n.d (Toby Falk memorial volume), no.26

Generally in very good condition, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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This is a rare and important equestrian portrait by Muhammad Reza-i Hindi depicting a nawab of Bengal who was almost certainly the artist’s main patron. Muhammad Reza-i Hindi was a highly accomplished painter active in the mid-eighteenth century whose known works date mostly from the 1760s. The majority of his paintings are figural compositions, some of living subjects, others idealised figures, often set on a terrace. While displaying a generally conventional approach to painting, his works are remarkable for their extremely fine technique, precise details and rich, strong pigments. The present work is typical of his refined style and shows the great care and meticulous attention to detail in the nawab’s face, garments and dagger and the horse’s head, mane, trappings and saddle, as well as the careful naturalistic rendering of the horse’s dappled grey coat. Importantly, the nawab depicted here is the same as that in a terrace scene originally from the same album and now in the British Library (Add. Or.2410, see Falk and Archer, op.cit., no.211, p.126; J. Losty and L. Leach, op.cit., no.26) and the two paintings bear the same date, and both Falk and Leach suggested that this nawab was the artist’s main patron in the early 1760s.

Approximately fifteen works by the artist are known, plus several attributable to him, but the exact details of his career have remained elusive. Although the style and subject matter of almost all his works locate him in eastern India in the 1760s, a signed oil portrait of Nadir Shah in fully Persian style (see W. Dalrymple and Y. Sharma, Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi 1707-1857, New York, 2012, no.17, p.88) plus his use of the nisba Hindi, has led some to conclude that he was either a Persian émigré artist or an Indian artist in the employ of the Emperor Muhammad Shah at Delhi who was taken back to Persia by Nadir Shah after the sack of Delhi in 1739 and who later returned to India. The presence in the St. Petersburg Album of two floral studies by him would support these theories, as would a fine retrospective portrait of Emperor Muhammad Shah dated 1764 (see Sotheby’s London, 10 December 1962, lot 25, now in the Cleveland Museum of Art (Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection), Inv.2013.347.a). A portrait of a scribe on a terrace sold in these rooms 25 April 2002, lot 43 is now in the David Collection, Copenhagen, Inv. no.15/2002, and a portrait of a lady on a terrace is in the San Diego Museum of Art, Edwin Binney 3^rd collection.

The album from which this and the British Library miniatures originate was acquired or assembled in India by one of two eighteenth century officers of the East India Company, both memebers of the same family. It has been written that the album was acquired by Sir Charles Forbes, 1^st Baronet Forbes, in India between 1765 and 1779 (see Falk and Archer 1981, p.126, no.211, Losty and Leach, no.26). However, although there was a Charles Forbes in the East India Company in those years, he died in 1779 in service in India, was not a baronet and was not a direct ancestor of the relevant Forbes family. The direct Forbes ancestor who served in the East India Company in exactly those years was John Forbes (1743-1821), known as 'Bombay Jack', who was a successful merchant and officer and returned to Scotland a wealthy man. He served in India during exactly the same years (1765-79) as the aforesaid Charles Forbes. John Forbes‘s nephew Sir Charles Forbes (1^st Bt., 1773-1849) inherited the family’s Scottish estate and also served in the East India Company in the late eighteenth century, returning to Scotland in 1811, thereafter serving as a member of parliament. Thus the original collector of the album could have been either John 'Bombay Jack' Forbes (d.1821) or Sir Charles Forbes (d.1849). Their direct descendant, Col. Sir John Forbes, 6^th Baronet, sold the paintings at Sotheby’s, London on 10 December 1962, this work being lot 12 and the British Library example being lot 18.