Thakur Pratap Singh of Ghanerao examining his horse Ataro, Marwar at Ghanerao, circa 1720

gouache heightened with gold on paper, inscribed on the verso in devanagari script 'Sri Pratap Singhji' and 'Ghoro Ataro' ('the horse Ataro')

Acquired before 1969

In the Image of Man, Hayward Gallery, London, 1982

London 1982-I, p.135, no.138

In good overall condition, colours vivid, minor water stains and losses to lower leaf edge with associated repainting, as viewed.
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The small thikana of Ghanerao lies to the south on the border between the great states of Marwar and Mewar. The earliest known paintings date from the reign of Thakur Pratap Singh (r.1714-20). Rosemary Crill states that the only known painting of Thakur Pratap Singh of Ghanerao is a group scene with nobles, in the Harvard University Art Museums (Crill 1999, no.52, pp.80-81), which she compares in style and quality to best mainstream Jodhpur painting of the period. The inscription on the reverse of the present example identifies the prince as Pratap Singh and the facial features are identical to those of the main figure in the group scene, save for his beard being a little more mature. Thus this example is only the second securely identifiable portrait of this prince. For a Jodhpur equestrian portrait of Sonag Champawat of Pali of circa 1710-20, very close in style to the present work, see Crill 1999, no.33, p.61, and for a closely related equestrian portrait of Bhati Udai Ram, possibly by the same hand, see Brussels 1974, no.67, pl.69.