Lot n° 153
Estimation :
3000 - 5000
EUR
Maharana Ari Singh with the dhabhai Rupji... - Lot 153 - Ader
Maharana Ari Singh with the dhabhai Rupji and the young prince Neliya, North India, Rajasthan, Mewar, probably Udaipur, dated VS 1819 / 1762, signed Shiva son of Naga
Pigments and gold on paper representing two men facing each other: on the left, Maharana Ari Singh with a nimbed face, richly adorned and dressed in an ornate turban with aigrette and sarpush and a long orange and gold jama with a wide belt, holds a talwar in his right hand, a small beaded avian jewel in his left hand ; Opposite him, his adopted brother Rupji, wearing an orange turban with aigrette and a red jama with a golden belt, presents in his arms the young prince Neliya, dressed in gold. On the apple-green background of the red-belted scene, two lines of inscription in nagari in black ink stand out: "Maharana sri arsiji sama dhabhai rupji sri kuvarji neliya ubha thaka" / "Maharana Ari Singh standing with dhabhai (foster brother) Rupji and prince Neliya". On the reverse, long inscription in Nagari giving the name of the artist Shiva son of Naga and the date of VS 1819 / 1762 "in the third of the brilliant half of Sravana".
Dim. page at sight : 26,4 x 21 cm
Slight stains and scratches.
Provenance:
Royal Mewar Collection, no. 3 / 261.
Ari Singh II, shown on the left of the scene, was the maharana of Mewar from 1761 to 1773, the date of his assassination. His son Hamir succeeded him from that date under the name of Hamir Singh II. Hamir, one year old at the time of the execution of this painting, is probably the toddler depicted in the arms of his uncle Rupji and whose identity is masked by the nickname Neliya.
Representations of children are frequent in Mewar's paintings. Another almost contemporary portrait of the Maharana with children is in the British Museum in London (1956,0714,0.23). As for the artist Shiva, son of Naga and grandson of Bhagvan, he was a young artist at Mewar's court in Udaipur. Several of his works are referenced.
The Maharana Ari Singh with the Dhabhai Rupji and the Prince Neliya, North India, Rajasthan, Mewar, probably Udaipur, Dated and Signed
Private collection in Paris from 1975 to 2000 - first part (lots 120 to 173).
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