A RAJA HOLDING A FLOWER, PROBABLY RAJA HARI DEV OF JAMMU

BASOHLI, PUNJAB HILLS NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1700

Details

A RAJA HOLDING A FLOWER, PROBABLY RAJA HARI DEV OF JAMMU
BASOHLI, PUNJAB HILLS NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1700
Opaque pigments and gold on paper, seated against a large red bolster, a floral carpet on the floor, he holds a rose in his right hand, his left hand resting on his tulwar's hilt, with red borders
6 3/8 x 5.¾in. (16.4 x 14.7cm.)

Provenance

Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (1877-1947)
Christie's South Kensington, 11 October 2013, lot 555

Sale room notice

Please note that this lot was purchased at Christie’s South Kensington on 11th October 2013, rather than in 2011 as stated in the catalogue.

Lot Essay

Raja Hari Dev was Raja of Jammu between 1650 and 1688. Two Mankot portraits of him, dated circa 1670 are published in W. G. Archer, Indian Paintings of the Punjab Hills, 1973, vol. I, p.373, nos.5 and 6; vol. II, p. 285, nos. 5 and 6. Versions of the two-toned mauve carpet on which the Raja sits appear in a number of contemporary paintings from Basohli and it is probable that our portrait was painted there. See for instance a portrait of Raja Kirpal Pal (r.1685-90) in the collection of Baron and Baroness Bachofen von Echt, or a painting depicting Prince Medini Pal of Basohli, dated 1730 in the Soustiel Collection. A portrait of Sangram Pal in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, also shows a similar carpet although with a deeper rust colour.

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