MANDI, NORTHERN INDIA, 1730-1750

Raja Sidh Sen (r.1684-1727) is usually depicted with a beard, however we can identify him as the figure in our painting through a similar scene, again with a datura flower in his topknot, illustrated in R. Skelton, Indian Miniatures: from the 15^th to 19^th centuries, Venice, 1961, no.55. The Raja was believed to have lived to 100 years old. A great warrior who expanded Mandi at the expense of Kangra and Kulu, he was credited with supernatural powers and thought to have possessed a book of spells (W.G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, London, 1973, p.359). Perhaps relating more closely to the present lot, Raja Sidh Sen was also recognised to have been deeply religious, a worshipper of both Shiva and the Devi as indicated by the joint sectarian mark on his forehead.