
A Sikh nobleman seated on a terrace with an attendant Punjab, circa 1840
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A Sikh nobleman seated on a terrace with an attendant
Punjab, circa 1840
Punjab, circa 1840
175 x 253 mm.
Footnotes
With his long, pointed white beard, and his position in the European-style chair, with one leg tucked beneath him and another on a small footstool, the nobleman seems designed to resemble Maharajah Ranjit Singh, but does not resemble him facially. However, others, such as General Hari Singh Nalwa, and Sirdar Sham Singh Atariwala, also sported greying v-shaped beards (see D. Singh Toor, In Pursuit of Empire: Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, London 2018, pp. 110-113, and 168-169). One or two of the various Sikh sardars illustrated by W. G. Archer also bear some resemblance (Paintings of the Sikhs, London 1966, figs. 79-91. In the same work, fig. 94, depicting Sham Singh Atariwala (dated circa 1860), portrays him in a similar chair with one leg bent in a similar way, and with a flowing white beard.
Saleroom notices
The subject has now been identified as Raja Tej Singh, commander of the army during the First Anglo-Sikh War.