Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota (r.1827-66) in procession with a delegation of British officers, ascribed to Lacchi Ram, India, Rajasthan, Kota, circa 1850

P & D Colnaghi and Co. Ltd., London, 1983.
Sotheby's London, 23 April 1997, lot 15.
Jaleh Khosrovani-Diba.
Sotheby's London, The Khosrovani-Diba Collection, 19 October 2016, lot 22.

Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota (r.1826-66) commissioned large-scale paintings of court scenes, processions and hunting scenes in a distinctive style, and the present work is an important example of high-quality court painting at Kota in the mid-nineteenth century. Other examples include an illustration of Ram Singh in procession, with his son Shatru Sal, in the Victoria and Albert Museum (IS.564-1952); Ram Singh’s Visit to Delhi (attributed to the Kota artists Kishan Das and Lacchi Ram) and Ram Singh’s arrival in Jaisalmer for his marriage in 1842, both in the Rao Madho Singh Trust Museum, Kota Fort (Welch 1997, pp.205-7, no.65, 66). The reverse of the present painting also bears an attribution to the artist Lacchi Ram, who is perhaps most well-known for painting the Maharao’s official visit to Delhi in 1842. A drawing of the Diwan-i Khass in the Red Fort at Delhi, also attributable to Lacchi Ram or Kishan Das, sold in these rooms as part of the Sven Gahlin Collection, 6 October 2015, lot 68.

This particular painting is an interesting example since it shows the interaction of the ruler of Kota with British political and military authority. Turning to face the Maharao is the Political Agent for Kota, Capt. W.H. Benyon. Immediately behind Ram Singh is the Bara Sahib - the Agent to the Governor-General of Rajputana, who is Major-General (later Sir) George St. P. Lawrence. Behind him is the Political Agent for Jaipur, Major J. C. Brooke; further behind him is Sikander Sahib (possibly the Anglo-Indian officer, Colonel James Skinner, or a descendant), and finally another officer, apparently an ADC to Lawrence. Along the top in the green landscape runs an inscription naming the Maharao himself with the usual honorifics. Another comparable painting which depicts armed British troops escorting a palanquin is a large, exuberant illustration of the marriage celebrations of Ram Singh with the sister of Maharana Sarup Singh of Udaipur, dated circa 1851. Belonging to the collection of Howard Hodgkin, the painting is illustrated in Kossak 1997, pp.128-9, no.80.