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Lot Essay
"After the Gurus, Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) is the man who commands the highest respect among Sikhs.......In early infancy an attack of smallpox blinded his left eye and left his skin pockmarked; he was short and dark, a great horseman and a valiant fighter. ....Despite the fact that he insisted on the exact observance of religious ritual, he was without religious prejudice and commanded the loyalties of Muslims and Hindus as well as Sikhs."
Stronge, S.: The Art of the Sikh Kingdoms, London, 1999, p. 21. This is a fine portrait of the Maharaja executed in the last years of his life. Another portrait of him by William Parkinson dated 1842 shows him in identical pose, wearing the same clothing, jewellery, turban and sword. It seems likely that Parkinson may have based his portrait on the present painting or on an image from a similar album.
Bharadia, S.: The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, The Canadian Collections, Royal Ontario Museum, 2000, p.43.
Stronge, S.: The Art of the Sikh Kingdoms, London, 1999, p. 21. This is a fine portrait of the Maharaja executed in the last years of his life. Another portrait of him by William Parkinson dated 1842 shows him in identical pose, wearing the same clothing, jewellery, turban and sword. It seems likely that Parkinson may have based his portrait on the present painting or on an image from a similar album.
Bharadia, S.: The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, The Canadian Collections, Royal Ontario Museum, 2000, p.43.