A prince riding in a landscape holding a falcon, attributable to Hunhar or a follower, circa 1690-1720

gouache heightened with gold on paper, laid down on an album page with narrow gold border rules

Sir Howard Hodgkin, C.H., C.B.E., London (b.1932)
Bruce Chatwin, London (1940-89)
Acquired in 1964

In good overall condition, small smudge to lower right corner, abrasions to leaf edges, 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 elegant equestrian portrait of a prince hawking can be compared to two equestrian portraits by Hunhar of circa 1690, one of Aurangzeb (see Ehnbom 1985, no.28, New York 2008, no.13) and the other of Khan Jahan Bahadur (British Library, Johnson Album 18,12, Losty and Roy 2012, p.157, fig.99; Falk and Archer 1981, p.416, no.133). The use of a thin wash can also be compared with the former. However, the face of the young prince is perhaps closer to early-eighteenth-century work, as are the skyscape and water-meadow landscape (see, for comparison, four paintings of circa 1710-30 in the British Library, Falk and Archer 1981, pp.418-421, nos.149, 152, 158 and 167). A closely comparable Mughal painting of a prince on horseback carrying a hawk is in the Chester Beatty Library, dated to circa 1720 (Leach 1995, vol.I, p.510, no.4.36, pl.79). Even the prince's facial features are very similar, albeit in a stylised manner. The form of the horse in the present work, especially the head and mane, are somewhat more accentuated and romanticised than those in Hunhar's work and can be compared to the work of Mughal artists who moved to Rajashtan, such as Bhavanidas and Dalchand (see, for example, an equestrian portrait by Dalchand painted at Jodhpur (McInerney in Beach, Fischer and Goswamy 2011, p.570, fig.4).

There are few identified paintings by the painter Hunhar, who was active in the Mughal atelier in the second half of the seventeenth century. As well as the two works by him mentioned above, see Falk and Archer 1981, p.406, no.93; Beach-Koch 1997, p.124, fig.18, and p.165, fig.81; Sotheby's, London, 8 October 2014, lot 205.