INDIA, KOTAH, CIRCA 1840

This drawing was probably part of a larger scroll that would have served as preparatory sketches for a larger work. See S.C. Welch, India: Art and Culture 1300-1900, 1985, pp. 429-433, for an example of a ceremonial painting on cloth depicting Maharao Ram Singh visiting the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II, currently in the Rao Madho Singh Museum. Welch notes, "...most of the artists were accomplished craftsmen who continuously sketched from life. While in Delhi, he [the artist] must have followed Ram Singh everywhere, taking notes at royal command of curious personages, animals, furniture, architectural details, and landscapes...On his return to Kotah, the drawings and diagrams, some of which have survived, served as aides-mémoire for this giant tour de force."