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Lot Essay
The inscriptions along the bottom of this painting are as follows:
Under the figure centre right, shabih-e maharaja mudhoji bhosle sen sahib-e subah bahadur rajah-e nagpur va alihi, Portrait of Maharaja Mudhoji Bhosle Sen Sahib-e Subah Bahadur, Rajah of Nagpur, and his family'
Under the figure centre left, shabih-e maharajah isri sen bahadur rajah-e mandui va alihi, 'Portrait of Maharaja Ishwari Sen Bahadur, Rajah of Mandi, and his family'
The other figures that it has been possible to identify include:
To the left of the central duo, and moving outwards, miyan tara baradar-e maharaja, 'Miyan Tara, brother of the Maharaja'; miyan shigha (?) baradar-e maharaja, 'Miyan Shigha (?), brother of the Maharaja'; the figure in the blue turban and red shawl miyan udi singh baradar-e maharaja isri sen bahadur, 'Miyan Udi Singh, brother of Maharaha Isri Sen Bahadur'; ghughi wazir, 'Ghughi, wazir' (possibly the Sikh figure with the white beard); the figure with the scroll on his lap din diyal munshi, 'Din Diyal, secretary'; the large figure leaning upon a gold stick ripu chubdar, 'Ripu, club-bearer'.
To the right of the central duo, and moving outwards, the young prince in the blue turban, kunwar ratan singh pesar-e isri sen bahadur, 'Kunwar Ratan Singh, son of Ishwari Sen Bahadur'; the Brahmin wrapped in cloaks, damnaji brahman, 'Damnaji Brahmin'; standing second from the right, rav bahadur singh, 'Rav Bahadur Singh'; standing third from the right, naghu khidmatkar, 'Naghu, attendant'.
Ghulam 'Ali Khan was one of the foremost Indian artists, based in Delhi, working for the Europeans in India during the first half of the 19th century. He is known for the work he did both for Colonel Skinner and the Fraser brothers (compiled in the Fraser album), as well as under the patronage of the Mughal court. This was a period which saw the development of the Company school - a realistic style of painting for British residents in India, blending former indigenous methods with European techniques such as watercolour. Local artists adapted their style aiming accurately to document the world around them for their new patrons.
Certain features of this work are reminiscent of Ghulam 'Ali's work, and that of his painter family. The faces of the characters are depicted realistically but also clearly by an artist trained in the Mughal tradition with the miniaturist's attention to minute detail. Furthermore, if we look at the Fraser albums there is a tendency by Ghulam 'Ali Khan and his school to depict groups of people arranged in a horizontal row, often against a plain grey background, but in rarer cases against an architectural or village setting. Archer and Falk attribute this second group to Ghulam 'Ali Khan, and those of the first type to a member of his family (John Seyller and Konrad Seitz, Mughal and Deccani Paintings, exhibition catalogue, Zurich, 2010, p.100).
A Delhi school portrait, circa 1825, of Ishwari Sen Bahadur (1784-1826), is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (IS.62-1964). Another is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (17.2386, https://educators.mfa.org/objects/detail/127311?related_people_text=Purk hu). Mudhoji (1816-18), his compatriot in this portrait, also known as Appa Sahib is famous for his resistance to the British. In 1817, Mudhoji attacked the British and was defeated in this action at Sitabaldi and a second time in Nagpur city. As a result of these battles, the remaining portion of Berar and the territories in the Narmada valley were ceded to the British. Appa Sahib was reinstated to the throne but soon after conspired again, was deposed to Allahbad but escaped to the Punjab en route.
Under the figure centre right, shabih-e maharaja mudhoji bhosle sen sahib-e subah bahadur rajah-e nagpur va alihi, Portrait of Maharaja Mudhoji Bhosle Sen Sahib-e Subah Bahadur, Rajah of Nagpur, and his family'
Under the figure centre left, shabih-e maharajah isri sen bahadur rajah-e mandui va alihi, 'Portrait of Maharaja Ishwari Sen Bahadur, Rajah of Mandi, and his family'
The other figures that it has been possible to identify include:
To the left of the central duo, and moving outwards, miyan tara baradar-e maharaja, 'Miyan Tara, brother of the Maharaja'; miyan shigha (?) baradar-e maharaja, 'Miyan Shigha (?), brother of the Maharaja'; the figure in the blue turban and red shawl miyan udi singh baradar-e maharaja isri sen bahadur, 'Miyan Udi Singh, brother of Maharaha Isri Sen Bahadur'; ghughi wazir, 'Ghughi, wazir' (possibly the Sikh figure with the white beard); the figure with the scroll on his lap din diyal munshi, 'Din Diyal, secretary'; the large figure leaning upon a gold stick ripu chubdar, 'Ripu, club-bearer'.
To the right of the central duo, and moving outwards, the young prince in the blue turban, kunwar ratan singh pesar-e isri sen bahadur, 'Kunwar Ratan Singh, son of Ishwari Sen Bahadur'; the Brahmin wrapped in cloaks, damnaji brahman, 'Damnaji Brahmin'; standing second from the right, rav bahadur singh, 'Rav Bahadur Singh'; standing third from the right, naghu khidmatkar, 'Naghu, attendant'.
Ghulam 'Ali Khan was one of the foremost Indian artists, based in Delhi, working for the Europeans in India during the first half of the 19th century. He is known for the work he did both for Colonel Skinner and the Fraser brothers (compiled in the Fraser album), as well as under the patronage of the Mughal court. This was a period which saw the development of the Company school - a realistic style of painting for British residents in India, blending former indigenous methods with European techniques such as watercolour. Local artists adapted their style aiming accurately to document the world around them for their new patrons.
Certain features of this work are reminiscent of Ghulam 'Ali's work, and that of his painter family. The faces of the characters are depicted realistically but also clearly by an artist trained in the Mughal tradition with the miniaturist's attention to minute detail. Furthermore, if we look at the Fraser albums there is a tendency by Ghulam 'Ali Khan and his school to depict groups of people arranged in a horizontal row, often against a plain grey background, but in rarer cases against an architectural or village setting. Archer and Falk attribute this second group to Ghulam 'Ali Khan, and those of the first type to a member of his family (John Seyller and Konrad Seitz, Mughal and Deccani Paintings, exhibition catalogue, Zurich, 2010, p.100).
A Delhi school portrait, circa 1825, of Ishwari Sen Bahadur (1784-1826), is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (IS.62-1964). Another is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (17.2386, https://educators.mfa.org/objects/detail/127311?related_people_text=Purk hu). Mudhoji (1816-18), his compatriot in this portrait, also known as Appa Sahib is famous for his resistance to the British. In 1817, Mudhoji attacked the British and was defeated in this action at Sitabaldi and a second time in Nagpur city. As a result of these battles, the remaining portion of Berar and the territories in the Narmada valley were ceded to the British. Appa Sahib was reinstated to the throne but soon after conspired again, was deposed to Allahbad but escaped to the Punjab en route.