gouache and gold on paper with segments of polished metal or glass applied to the painted surface, the sitter in a painted oval, cornerpieces of gilt floral motifs on a red ground, outer border of naturalistic floral motifs on a white ground, nagari inscriptions within cartouches in upper and lower borders, unframed
512 x 409 mm.

Footnotes

The inscriptions are as follows:

Top: Tasbeer Maharajadhiraj Raja Rajeshwar Narain [?] Siri Mani Shri Sardar Singh Ji Bahadur, 'Picture of Maharajadhiraj Shri Sardar Singh Ji'.

Below: Kalam Uste Kasim Kadar re ri Samvat 1938, 'The work of Usta Kasim Kadar Samvat 1938 [AD 1881-82]'.

The painter is probably from the Usta family of artists working in Bikaner, and he appears to be the great-grandson of Ibrahim, son of Ruknuddin, the famous Bikaner court painter of the late 17th Century (see A. Topsfield, Court Painting in Rajasthan, 2000, pp. 62-63).

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- Islamic and Indian Art
- Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art

Maharajah Sardar Singh of Bikaner Bikaner, dated samvat 1938/AD 1881-82

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Oliver White