The present miniature and preparatory sketch were painted in India, most likely Madras. Despite enjoying a successful and lucrative career as a miniature painter in London, John Smart decided to capitalise on the demand for portraiture among Indian princes and members of the East India Company and their families. On 28 July 1784 Smart was granted permission by the East India Company to travel to Madras and he sailed on board the Dutton, arriving in September 1785. He visited Bombay and Bengal, but he was mostly based in North Street, Fort St George, Madras during his time in India. He painted high-ranking members of the East India Company such as Lord Cornwallis (Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in India and Calcutta), British families associated with the Company, and Indian royalty including the nawab of Arcot and his family, and two of the sons of Tippoo Sultan: Abdul Khalick and Mooiz ud Din. He remained for ten very successful years, despite experiencing difficulty in receiving payment from the nawab of Arcot, and returned to London on board the Melville Castle in 1795.
It is rare to find a miniature with its preparatory sketch in the same collection and it would appear that they were united between 1950 and 1993. On the death of the artist a large quantity of preparatory sketches from his estate was bequeathed to his family and sold by his great-children. Mabel Annie Busteed, née Bose (b. 1878) sold her collection Christie's, London, 17 December 1936; her brother William Henry Bose (1875-1957) sold Christie's, London, 15 February 1937; their sister Lilian Mary Dyer, née Bose (1871-1955) sold Christie's, London, 26 November 1937. The present preparatory sketch may have formed part of the bequests.