Mohkam Singh, a favourite elephant of Maharana Jagat Singh II (reg. 1734–51), ridden by a mahout

Udaipur, dated VS 1801/AD 1744-45

Footnotes

Provenance
Private collection, France, 1970s-2024.

Exhibited
Peintures des Indes, Societe des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Studio du passage 44, Brussels, 9th December 1976–9th January 1977.

Published
Armand Neven, Peintures des Indes: Mythologies et légendes, Brussels 1976, p. 106, fig. 136.


The inscription reads: (upper border) [?]ka raja shri mohkam singh rajasthan falva kasan[?] ko hathi ja tilak vikram samat 1801 / ta ra[ja?] mohkam singh ji ke sawari mein ho; (lower border) ha[thi ke?] [ja?] tilak maharathi chitarkar dehli ke [?]si[?] br[?]yo.


This painting is one of a group of 18th Century works documenting elephants in the royal stables at Udaipur commissioned during the reigns of Maharana Jagat Singh II, his predecessor Sangram Singh II (reg. 1710–34) and a later successor Ari Singh (reg. 1762–72). The beasts are often shown with their drivers (mahouts) and with identifying inscriptions.

For depictions of Jagat Singh and his stable of elephants, see A. Topsfield, The City Palace Museum, Udaipur: Paintings of Mewar Court Life, 1990, pp. 40-47, nos. 8-12. Topsfield comments: 'Maharana Jagat Singh was an undistinguished ruler but a lavish patron of the arts and a devoted elephant-lover [...] prompting Col. Tod's comment [...] that "his elephants are mentioned more con amore than his sick mother or state affairs" ' (no. 9: Colonel James Tod was British Political Agent at Udaipur from 1818 to 1822, and author of Antiquities of Rajasthan).

The extensive inscription, despite the losses, appears to mention the elephant's name, the date of the painting (or the year in which the elephant entered the royal stables) and that the painting is the work possibly of a master artist from Delhi.

Other paintings from this series can be found in the following museum collections: The Cleveland Museum of Art (acc. no. 2005.202); Morgan Library and Museum (acc. no. MS M.1006); National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (acc. nos. AS128-1980, AS138-1980, AS141-1980, AS207-1980, AS208-1980, AS209-1980, AS210-1980 and AS211-1980); San Diego Museum of Art (acc. nos. 1990.622 and 1990.628); and Tokyo National Museum (acc. no. TA-647_63).

Other paintings have been offered at auction over the past two decades: Christie's South Kensington, 2nd May 2003, lot 522 (the elephant Anoshi); Christie's, New York, 14 September 2010, lot 211 (two paintings from the series); Christie's, London, 8 October 2010, lot 452; Artcurial, Paris, 4 November 2014, lot 229 (from the Francoise and Claude Bourelier Collection); Christie's, London, 27 May 2016, lot 26; Christie's, London, 25 October 2016, lot 85 (three paintings from the series); Christie's, Arts of India, 12th June 2018, lot 11 (the elephant Popdant); Christie's, New York, 24 October 2022, lot 1129 (from The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection, acquired at Christie's, London, 24 April 1990, lot 21); Christie's, New York, 22 March 2023, lot 413.

For further examples see A. Topsfield, Paintings from Rajasthan in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 1980, pp. 128-129, nos. 191 (dated circa 1730-60, showing the elephant Rinasobha) and 192 (dated circa 1761-65, showing the elephant Verisal).