Page 205 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED WEST COAST COLLECTION
485
A LARGE PAINTING OF THAKUR DURJAN SINGH
WITH COURTIERS
INDIA, RAJASTHAN, GHANERAO, DATED 1784
Folio 22Ω x 20√ in. (57.1 x 53 cm.)
Image 20Ω x 19√ in. (53 x 50.5 cm.)
$25,000-35,000
PROVENANCE:
Private collection, Europe, acquired between 1970 and 1973, by repute.
Simon Ray Ltd., London, November 2011, no. 62.

Thakur Durjan Singh of Ghanerao (r. 1778-1799) radiates in a golden jama
and resplendently large Jodhpur-style turban while seated in durbar with his
white-clad courtiers. Almost thirty men in total attend court in the splendid
white marble palace, each identified by Devanagari inscription. Thakur
Durjan Singh’s inscription is accompanied by the date, samvat 1841 (1784
CE).The figures are framed by multifoil archways decorated with arabesque
florals. The arches are surmounted by a row of jali windows of varied design.
Diminutive figures—musicians, mahouts, soldiers—perform their service in
the foreground, in front of the sandstone brick foundation, each labeled by
inscription as well.
Ghanerao was a small thikana, or fiefdom, situated on the border between
Mewar and Marwar. The thikana had a strong tradition of court painting, the
atelier employing local court artists and visiting painters from Jodhpur, Mewar
and Bikaner. Due to its geographical position, painting in Ghanerao carries a
very Mewari foundation, but with stylistic variance due to the diverse array of
artists at the atelier. Works from the Ghanerao have now been dispersed into
private collections, but fortunately, many paintings are extensively inscribed,
identifying place, ruler, and date. For more information of the rich corpus of
works from Ghanerao, see R. Crill “The Thakurs of Ghanerao as Patrons of
Painting,” in A. Topsfield, Court Painting in Rajasthan, 2000, Mumbai, pp.
92-108.

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