A portrait of Ratan Singh Rathor, son of Mahesh Das, by Ruknuddin, India, Bikaner, circa 1660-70

gouache with gold on paper, later added inscription at right "shabihi Ratan Mahesh Das Rathor, amal-i Hunhar", mounted on stout cream paper, reverse with an inscription in Devanagari naming Ratan Rathor as subject and Ruknuddin as the artist (kam rukndi ro), Persian inscription beneath translating the Devanagari

In good condition, page and colours clean and fresh, as viewed.
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This is an important painting by the Bikaner master Ruknuddin. The inscription on the front painted surface names the Mughal artist Hunhar and states the sitter as Mahesh Das Rathor. However, this is a somewhat later inscription that confuses the identity of both the artist and sitter, for the inscription on the reverse in Devanagari names the artist as Ruknuddin and the sitter as Ratan (Singh) Rathor, son of Mahesh Das. The Devanagari inscription is as follows: "sabi rathor ratan mehashdasot ri kam rukndi ro" ('a picture of Rathor Ratan son of Mahesh Das the work of Ruknuddin'). The Persian inscription on the reverse immediately below is a near-translation of the Devanagari: "shabih Ratan Mahesh Das Rathor musawwir Rukn al-Din".

Ratan Singh Rathor was the son of Mahesh Das (the ruler of Jalor) and a cousin of Maharaja Jaswant Singh. The Rathors had been prominent in the imperial service for generations and legend has it that young Ratan Singh raised his own profile when he bravely tackled a rampaging elephant that was running amok in the streets of Delhi, although the veracity of this tradition is questionable. He was a highly respected commander in the imperial army, with notable success against the Uzbeks and Persians in Afghanistan between 1648 and 1651. He was granted Ratlam as a princedom by Shah Jahan in 1652. He died at the Battle of Dharmat in 1658 fighting against the forces of princes Aurangzeb and Murad, although the Alamgir-nama records that he continued in imperial service into Aurangzeb’s reign.

The artist Ruknuddin was the leading master of the Bikaner school in the second half of the seventeenth century. His career lasted from about 1646 to 1697 and he was director of the atelier for a time under Anup Singh. He probably trained under the artist Ali Raza (Reza), one of several painters known to have come to Bikaner from Delhi at the request of Karan Singh (r.1631-69). Thus Ruknuddin was thoroughly exposed to the Mughal idiom during his artistic training and developed his own lyrical and delicate Mughalised style, marked by strong colours and exquisite detail. The rendering here of Ratan Singh’s turban, garments, hands, sword and dagger bear this aspect out.

An early work by Ruknuddin, dated 1646, was sold in these rooms 11 July 1973, lot 158, and an important scene of Vishnu and Lakhshmi dated 1678 was sold in these rooms 23 April 1997, lot 12, and is now in the Rietberg Museum, Zurich. For further discussion and illustration of Ruknuddin's works see Welch 1983, no.32, Krishna 1985, Guy and Britschgi 2011, pp.114-116.

Sotheby's is grateful to Dr Catherine Glynn for her assistance in cataloguing this lot.