A state procession of Raja Tulsaji of Tanjore, Tanjore, circa 1765

gouache heightened with gold on paper, varnished and laid down on cloth, on a stretcher

Raja Tulsaji (or Tuljaji) of Tanjore (r.1765-86)
General Sir John Dalling, 1st Baronet (c.1731-98) commander-in-chief at Madras, 1784-86
William F.C. Ohly (1883-1955), London
Ernest Ohly, Berkeley Galleries, London
Acquired in 1964

In fair overall condition, cracking, losses to paint, rubbed areas, a few holes, some with associated repair visible on reverse, mounted on cloth and stretched, as viewed.
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Painting at Tanjore appears from the beginning of the eighteenth century and some artists may have been drawn to the court from Hyderabad towards the end of that century. Most Tanjore miniatures, however, depict the castes and occupations of the region and were commissioned by European visitors during the last quarter of the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth centuries (see, for example, Archer 1972, pp.23-36, no.714). Large procession scenes are much rarer and this ambitious painting may celebrate the ruler of Tanjore's accession making it probably the earliest of a series of similar Tanjore processional subjects from this and later reigns. 

The present painting comes from the same early provenance as a pair of related scenes showing General Sir John Dalling, who was Commander-in-Chief at Madras in 1785-6, which are now in the British Museum (Christie’s, London, 23 September 2005, lot 43). It is likely that he acquired the present work, at the same time as commissioning the two now in the British Museum. For related Tanjore procession scenes see Archer 1972, p.30, no.12, pl.5 (Raja Sarabhoji, circa 1820); Archer 1992, pp.48-49, no.16 (Raja Tulsaji, circa 1770) and pp.52-53, no.18 (Rajas Amar Singh and Sarabhoji, circa 1797); Welch 1978-I, p.170, no.74 (Raja Sarabhoji, circa 1800); London, 1986-I, no.3 (Raja Tulsaji, circa 1780); Goswamy and Smith 2005, pp.288-9, no.122 (Raja Tulsaji, circa 1800); Christie’s, London, 10 July 1975, lot 137; Christie's, London, 11 June 1986, lot 160 (Raja Tulsaji, circa 1780); Christie’s, London, 23 September 2005, lot 43 (Gen. Sir John Dalling and fellow officers, a pair, circa 1785).

General Sir John Dalling, 1st Baronet (c.1731–16 January 1798) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. He served with the British forces under James Wolfe (who captured Quebec from France in 1759). Dalling was Governor of Jamaica from 1777-82 and Commander-in-Chief of the forces at Madras from 1784-86. He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1782, was awarded a baronetcy in 1783 and promoted to full general in 1796.