Ricketts was resident at the Court of Oudh at the time when there were negotiations with King George III to create the Nawab, King of Oudh. Ghazi-ud-din Haidau, the King of Oudh in 1819 honoured his guests and members of the court by presenting them with a portrait of himself. Ricketts is depicted with here such a gift. Home has been asked by Colonel John Baillie to become Court painter in 1814. In 1819 he was commissioned to design the King's crown and regalia. The crown shown in the King's head in the decoration was one designed by Home himself. For a similar sovereign decoration worn by Sir Edward Paget in Home's portrait, see Mildred Archer, India and British Portraiture 1770-1825, 1979, p. 329, pl. 231.