Page 122 - Bonhams Indian and Himalayan Art September 2013

181 182

181 182
Raja Tegh Chand of Kangra smoking a huqqa Bird of prey
Mandi, circa 1770-1780 Punjab Hills, possibly Mandi, 18th century
Opaque watercolor on paper; with the markings of a Vaishnava on his Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; presented on a simple perch with
cheek-bone and forehead, the ruler is dressed in a plain brown jama long talons, a rounded head, and short beak, and secured by a twisted
with a matching turban decorated with a floral design, he sits smoking gold wire and framed emerald locket.
a budri huqqa on a summer carpet spread on the marble terrace with Image: 10 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. (26.4 x 16.9 cm); Folio: 13 1/8 x 8 1/2 in.
an attendant clad ready to wave a canopied fan over his master, with a (33.4 x 21.8 cm)
circular rim of white cloud and sky above the green background. $5,000 - 8,000
Folio: 10 x 6 5/8 in. (25.2 x 17 cm)
$5,000 - 8,000

Nine portraits of Raja Tegh Chand of Kangra are recorded by Archer in
Pahari Painting, London, 1973, vol. I, p. 249. The present portrait is a new
addition to this small corpus. The red border, which is unusual for Kangra
portraits, suggests that it may have been executed in the neighboring
state of Mandi with whom Tegh Chand had close relations, having
granted asylum to the Mandi ruler Surma Sen.

120 | Bonhams