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Lot 202

Maharajah Balwant Singh of Ratlam (reg. 1825-57) watching two nautch girls performing in the company of his nobles
Attributed to Kusal, Ratlam, circa 1830

26 October 2020, 11:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £6,937.50 inc. premium

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Maharajah Balwant Singh of Ratlam (reg. 1825-57) watching two nautch girls performing in the company of his nobles
Attributed to Kusal, Ratlam, circa 1830

gouache and gold on paper, yellow inner border, red outer border
280 x 353 mm.

Footnotes

Provenance
Dr Kaywin Lehman Smith.
Sotheby's, New York, 6 October 1990, lot 99.
Sotheby's, New York, 30 November 1994, lot 18.
Gunter Heil Collection, Berlin, 1994-2016.

Published
J. Bautze, 'Die Welt de hofischen Malerei/Katalog der Malereien', in G. Kreisel (ed.), Rajasthan, Land der Konige, Stuttgart 1995, fig. 128.

This painting, one of few known produced in Ratlam, south-east of Mewar, reflects the role of the young Balwant Singh as a patron of the arts in general. The artist Kusal, who worked at the court, is distinctive in his rows of closely-packed seated figures, combined with the variety of turban designs; the slightly upturned eyes of all the figures are also a feature of his work.

For a painting of Balwant Singh in durbar, see Oliver Forge & Brendan Lynch, Indian Paintings from the Heil Collection, New York 2016, pp. 44-45, no. 20 (originally offered in these rooms, Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 25th October 2007, lot 403).

Additional information