Matthew Thomas
Senior Specialist
Lot 228
A rare painting depicting the child Guru Har Krishan conversing with a hill rajah, with attendants standing by North India or Punjab, early 19th Century
Amended
26 October 2020, 11:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £6,062.50 inc. premium
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A rare painting depicting the child Guru Har Krishan conversing with a hill rajah, with attendants standing by
North India or Punjab, early 19th Century
North India or Punjab, early 19th Century
gouache and gold on paper, red and gold borders, inscribed in nasta'liq verso
308 x 220 mm.
308 x 220 mm.
Footnotes
Please note that this picture was not from the collection of Major-General Sir Dashwood Strettell as stated in the catalogue.
Provenance
Formerly in the possession of Major-General Sir Dashwood Strettell (1881-1958), Indian Army.
The inscription on the reverse reads: tasvirat-e rang-dar varaq, 'coloured images [...] folios'. The number of folios (presumably from an album) are given in raqam, but this is not clearly written.
Depictions of the eighth Sikh Guru, Har Krishan, who was Guru between 1661 and 1664, are rare. He is normally identified with the curl of hair falling down his cheek, as seen here, denoting his youth. The female attendant holding the morchal directly over him (rather than merely behind him, as with depictions of mere noblemen, is another indication of his status, and draws an explicit contrast with the larger hill rajah seated opposite. For another depiction of the Guru, with the distinctive curled lock of hair, and a very similar gold jama and robe, see Davinder Toor, In Pursuit of Empire: Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, 2018, pp. 10-13; and W. G. Archer, Paintings of the Sikhs, London 1966, pl. 5. Two depictions were also sold in these rooms, Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 4th October 2011, lots 414 and 415.
Saleroom notices
Please note that this picture was not from the collection of Major-General Sir Dashwood Strettell as stated in the catalogue.