The swords of Raja Balwant Singh of Jasrota, attributed to Nainsukh of Guler, Jasrota, circa 1760

gouache on paper

Percival Chater Manuk (1873-1946) and Miss Gertrude Mary Coles (1884-1946), Patna, Dehra Dun and London
Dr William George Archer, O.B.E., (1907-79) and Dr Mildred Archer, O.B.E. (1932-2005), London
Maggs Bros. Ltd., London
Acquired in 1967

Goswamy 1997, pp.218-9, no.84

In good overall condition, slight creasing, especially to corners, as viewed.
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Lovingly painted, this group of swords in their decorative scabbards, has been attributed to Nainsukh of Guler (see Goswamy 1997, pp.218-9, no.84). They seem to be "portraits" of seven real swords belonging to his patron, Balwant Singh of Jasrota and they appear independently in other paintings by Nainsukh involving his patron (see, for example, Goswamy 1997, pp.93, 95, 107, 177, 203, and for a discussion see ibid. p.218). 

Nainsukh of Guler was one of the greatest artists of Pahari painting. He was born in Guler around 1710, the son of Pandit Seu and the younger brother of Manaku. He was trained in Guler under his father until the late 1730s, when he moved to Jasrota, a small state bordering Jammu, and worked first for Mian Zorawar Singh and then Balwant Singh, both enthusiastic patrons of painting. After the latter's death in 1763, Nainsukh moved to Basohli, painting for Balwant Singh's nephew Raja Amrit Pal. His style is marked by a precise, elegant calmness and aesthetic harmony. For the most extensive recent research on Nainsukh see Goswamy 1997, and Goswamy and Fischer in Beach, Goswamy and Fischer 2011, pp.659-686. 

Percival Manuk (1873-1946), to whom this painting belonged, was the leading barrister and a high court judge in Patna, and formed a large and important collection of Indian miniatures. On his death he bequeathed the larger part to be divided, in 1949, between the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. Other miniatures were dispersed at auction and through the London bookdealers Maggs Bros. Ltd.