- 289
MAHARAJA ABHAI SINGH SEATED IN THE ZENANA
Estimate
7,000 - 9,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- MAHARAJA ABHAI SINGH SEATED IN THE ZENANA
- Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
- image: 12 1/4 by 8 in. (30.4 by 20.3 cm)
- folio: 12 3/4 by 8 in. (30.5 by 20.3 cm)
Provenance
The Mewar Royal Collection
Simon Ray Ltd., London
Acquired 1990's
Simon Ray Ltd., London
Acquired 1990's
Catalogue Note
The youthful Maharaja Abhai Singh of Jodhpur (1702-1749) sits nimbate holding a tiny gold cup, his face naturalistically pock-marked. He wears a saffron-colored jama and multiple strands of pearls set with emeralds and gold. Attended by his consort holding a gold flask and two handmaidens, gold platters on the carpet beneath them. Framed by the moss-green scalloped architectural doorway within a white marble palace of the zenana (harem). A formal garden and fountain below and the forest beyond.
Maharaja Abhai Singh ruled Jodhpur from 1724-49 and our portrait was likely painted early in his reign. We see him here as a young man probably in his early twenties.
For a related work, see R. Crill, Marwar Painting: A History of the Jodhpur Style, Mumbai, 1999, p. 65-75.