MAHARAJA SIDH SEN OF MANDI AND AN ATTENDANT

Douglas McDougal Collection
The Paul F. Walter Collection
Sotheby's New York,  November 14, 2002, lot 69

and losses to pigment on lower ground of image and blue folio border, clearly visible in catalogue illustration. Further minor abrasions to pigment on upper left corner of blue folio border. Two or three minor spots and flaking and light staining within image. Abrasions to the outer borders. Verso: Minor staining. Black ink inscription in Takri. An inventory number in a purple decorative seal. Additional inventory numbers and ink inscriptions. Conservation framed.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Maharaja Sidh Sen of Mandi (r. 1684-1727) in older age - dressed in a brilliant scarlet full-length jama and a matching stylized pagri (cap) - seated against a blue bolster on a floral carpet.  He holds his sheathed ceremonial sword by the hilt.  An attendant waves a large morchal (peacock-feathered fan) as a symbol of royal authority.  Against a flat light-brown background with a band of white and blue sky above.  Lines of birds dot the sky.

A companion example with the same attendant but Sidh Sen depicted as a younger ruler is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession no. 1999.127.10. For another painting of Sidh Sen as an older man accompanied by the same morchal-bearer in the Edwin Binney III Collection, see Edwin Binney III, Rajput Miniatures from the Collection of Edwin Binney 3rd, Portland, 1968, p. 89, cat 67.