Page 67 - 2021 April 1, ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs, Christie's London

*42
MAHARAJA RAM SINGH SEATED WITH COURTIERS Born in 1811, Maharao Maharaja Ram Singh of Bundi succeeded his father
KOTA, RAJASTHAN, NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1830 Maharao Bishan Singh in 1821 and ruled until his death in 1889. During his long
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, within narrow yellow and reign, he enjoyed a reputation as a conservative, moral and chivalrous leader, yet
blue borders and narrow red margins, the upper margin with an identifying there remain comparatively fewer portraits of him than of other rulers.
inscription in white devanagari, the reverse with two columns of inscriptions
Folio 14 x 10æin. (35.6 x 27.3 cm) Photographs of the ruler in the British Library and Royal Collection Trust
(RCIN 2107601) depict his distinct split, flaring beard which is faithfully
£15,000-20,000 US$21,000-28,000
represented in this portrait. While those photographs portray him in the
€18,000-23,000
later stages of his rule, this large painting was produced in the early part of
his reign. The young ruler sits hierarchically larger than his attendants and
courtiers, holding a flower with his sword poised beside him. A later painting
of Maharao Ram Singh of Bundi hunting with Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota
is in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (inv.no.M.75.19).

65