drawing with wash and gouache on paper, inner margins ruled in gold and white, orange outer border, nagari inscription in upper border, four lines in nasta'liq script verso
287 x 185 mm.

Footnotes

Provenance
Sotheby's, New York, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, 21st September 1995, lot 303.
Gunter Heil Collection, Berlin, 1995-2016.

The nagari inscription reads: sarphraj sam dasani, 'Sarfraz Khan Deccani'.
The nasta'liq inscription verso is translated: 'The victor of the struggle of the battle, the lone charger in the battleground of 'Azam Khan, the mine of felicity, the soul of sayyid-hood, the one whose affairs are upright, the distinguished one of the court of 'Alamgir, the short-statured, the one covered in accomplishment and power, the one of youthful conduct at the feast of youths, the one of wise nature in the company of the wise, the foremost of the brave soldiers, Sarfraz Khan, the head of the band of heroes and the army, famous in the Deccan under the name of Latif Shah, rank of 5,000 with 5,000 horse'. There is also the number 85.

Sarfraz Khan Sayyid Latif, also known as Latif Shah, was a Deccani commander under the rulers of Bijapur (he is mentioned in the Ma'athir al-Umara). However, he switched to serving the Mughals in 1686, when Bijapur was about to be taken by Aurangzeb. Later he fought against the Marathas under Princes Kam Bakhsh and Bidar Bakhsh. He died in 1707, killed by a bullet. This was perhaps during the internecine Mughal struggles after Aurangzeb's death.

This painting shows the influence of Bhavanidas, the artist who moved to Kishangarh from the Mughal court in 1719. It is probably a version of a Mughal original painted around a decade earlier.

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

Sarfraz Khan Latif Shah accompanied by a weapon bearer, groom and horse Kishangarh, circa 1720-30

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Matthew Thomas