Maharaja Ram Singh with Courtiers

Overall good condition. Areas of rubbing and subsequent minor loss to pigment- in the blue halo, hand of the Maharaja, the beard and face of the seated men, the robes and chauri of the men standing and around the borders and adjacent areas. A crack runs from halo to the top and area of consolidation at upper right, both , stable and visible in catalogue illustration. Four small burn marks on the right, next to yellow border and red border. Inscription on top, partially visible. Slight buckling at all four corners. Affixed to board.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Inscribed recto in upper red margin in white ink Devanagari script: (translation) “Great Exalted Ruler Maharaja Ram Singh”.

Magnificently seated in darbar - and nimbate beneath a canopy held by silver metal posts - Maharao Maharaja Ram Singh of Bundi holds a delicate pink flower in his hand.  Accompanied by two retainers holding chauris or fly whisks he leans regally against a large pink bolster as his white muslin pleated jama spreads out before him.  He receives four vassals who petition him with clasped hands against a brilliant emerald green ground.  The motif of curving black shields forming a unifying abstracted counterpoint to the Maharao’s similarly curved white jama.

Contemporary depictions of this highly important ruler are surprisingly quite scarce. Another somewhat later painting of him at the hunt (LACMA - M.75.19) riding with his similarly named Kotah counterpart Maharao Ram Singh II depicts both rulers in a commemorative posthumous painting.  However the present painting is more likely a contemporary portrait of him executed ca. 1840 when the Maharao was still a young ruler.  It may be noted that of the two Ram Singh II of Kotah would certainly prove the more enthused arts patron considering the great many extant portrait miniatures of him and his court -  hence the additional interest value-added to our own scarce portrait.  Our present painting may be termed Kotah school given its clearly Kotah-like manner of hierarchic figure depiction / compositional devices and color palette but may well have been painted at Bundi - the two great painting traditions often merging indistinguishably owing to traditional tastes and close proximity - with Bundi being located merely twenty two miles from Kotah.

In the present painting Maharao Ram Singh of Bundi is majestically depicted as a dignified haloed young king - perhaps thirty years old in profile-view and hierarchically scaled much larger than his counterparts. He holds a small flower in one hand but keeps his sheathed sword and katar and dagger at the ready.  The motif of flower and sword to be understood as emblematic of a ruler both sensitive and martial - one who could appreciate the delicate and ephemeral fragrance of a blossom but woe unto his enemies when provoked!  He was considered the epitome of Rajput chivalry and a moral and wise ruler - Maharao Ram Singh did indeed enjoy an excellent reputation during his long reign (r. 1821-89) from his own subjects and also the British. He was the son of Maharao Bishan Singh (1770-1821) and brother of Maharaja Gopal Singh who may perhaps be observed here (along with three sons) attending the Maharao - the family resemblance being notable via sharp aquiline nose / slender physique and eagle-eyed glance.  Maharao Ram Singh’s flaring whiskers with shaved chin appears a lifelong personal-style statement as evidenced by the amazing sepia-toned photo of him by photographers Johnston and Hoffmann (ca. 1887 in the collection of the British Library) of a much older and certainly no less regal Maharao which in so many respects looks remarkably similar to our present painting.  Holding a long sheathed sword with shield and seated against an oversized bolster even his waistband is styled like the patka in our miniature!

Maharao Maharaja Ram Singh (b. 1811-1889) was according to James Tod in his Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan “... the most conservative prince in conservative Rajputana and a grand specimen of a true Rajput gentleman” (see: Vol. 3 P.1520 note 2).  He was a member of the Hara family of the great Chauhan Rajput clan who inhabited the region around Bundi for centuries and upon whose rulers Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I conferred the honorific title “Maharao” for great service to the Mughal Empire.