Page 93 - 2020 September 23 Himalyan and Southeast Asian Works of Art Bonhams

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MAHARAO RAM SINGH II OF KOTA OBSERVES HIS LOVER MAHARAJA SURAT SINGH WITH HIS ATTENDANTS
BATHING BIKANER, EARLY 19TH CENTURY
KOTAH, CIRCA 1827 Opaque watercolor heightened with gold and silver; with applied
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. red borders; the painting’s top register with a later inscription that
11 3/8 x 7 5/8 in. (29 x 19.5 cm) incorrectly identifies the scene, Madho Ramji nu chhai raj singh ri sabi
// Kam usta abu ro kiya chhai; translated ‘Madho Ram ji son of Raj
$7,000 - 10,000 Singh // The work of Usta Abu ro kiya chhai’.
Image: 10 3/8 x 7 1/2 in. (26.2 x 19 cm)
Whereas most paintings of Ram Singh II show the ruler hunting and
parading, here he sneaks a peek at a beautiful maiden bathing on the
zenana’s terrace. Curiously, an attendant holds a mirror reflecting both $4,000 - 6,000
him and the maiden, perhaps ushering the first meeting of the couple’s
eyes. The painting is an adaption of purva raga, a classic ragamala Maharaja Surat Singh of Bikaner (r. 1788-1828) is depicted under
musing on the love-play between Krishna and Radha. moonlight smoking a hookah and musing upon the lion armrests of his
silver throne. Under the watchful eye of his master-at-arms, he enjoys
Compare other versions in the San Diego Museum of Art and the a private concert from two diminutive female musicians. Compare with
National Museum, New Delhi (Goswamy, Domains of Wonder, San another painting of the ruler seated on the same silver lion throne in
Diego, 2005, p.89, no.29; and Goswamy, Essence of Indian Art, the Ashmolean Museum (EA1990.1285), and one of the ruler with his
San Francisco, 1996, p.92, no.57, respectively). Having ascended young son published in Goetz, The Art and Architecture of Bikaner,
the throne in 1828, Ram Singh II is shown with a youthful face in the Oxford, 1950, p.173, no.82.
present painting, indicating it was produced close to the time of his
accession. A drawing of the ruler sporting similar sideburns is dated Provenance
1831 (Bautze, “Scenes of Devotion and Court Life”, in Topsfield (ed.) Shankar Lal, Udaipur, 1962
Court Painting in Rajasthan, Mumbai, 2000, p.135, fig.12). Collection of Milo Cleveland Beach

Published
Milo Cleveland Beach, Rajput Painting at Bundi and Kota, Ascona,
1974, fig.94, pl.LXXXVIII.

Provenance
Motichand Khajanchi, 1967
Collection of Milo Cleveland Beach
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