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Lot Essay
A young lady, fresh from her bath, stands gracefully on a small platform clutching her green diaphanous shawl and hair in her left hand, and retrieves her jewellery that is heaped on a circular table to her right. The lady dominates the richly adorned interior, drawing inspiration from neoclassical design yet infused with regional opulence. The Corinthian column stands as imposing anchors and perhaps a refuge to hide behind if an unwelcomed visitor interrupts the intimate scene. Additionally the column bisects the larger brass water basin while the kundika (water vessel) is positioned directly behind the low marble platform. The green doors with eight glass panels are shut and are neatly framed by thin columns and neo-classical triangular pediment.
The lady’s sharply defined profile suggests the work of a court atelier, where Mughal artistic conventions were adapted to local tastes, specifically those of the princely state of Alwar during the reign of Rao Bane Singh (r. 1815–1857).
Rao Bane Singh was a distinguished patron of the arts, deeply invested in the cultural and aesthetic enrichment of his court. Under his rule, Alwar flourished not only as a political centre but also as a vibrant hub of artistic production. He actively transformed the town and its royal collections, inviting some of the finest painters, calligraphers, and artisans from the Mughal capital of Delhi to work under his patronage. Among them were renowned artists such as Ghulam Ali Khan and Baldev, both of whom brought with them the refined techniques of the Mughal tradition, which they then blended with the bold, emotive style favoured in Rajasthan.
Bane Singh’s patronage extended beyond painting to include literature and architecture, and he played a crucial role in shaping the cultural identity of Alwar in the early 19th century. A particularly notable example of his support for the arts is a portrait of the Rao himself by Baldev, now held in the British Library (Falk and Archer 1981, no. 534). His reign represents a key moment in the regional reinterpretation of Mughal aesthetics, one that contributed to a distinctive school of painting that balanced imperial finesse with local sensibilities.
For a closely related example, formerly in the James Ivory Collection, now in the Louvre Abu Dhabi, see Losty 2010, p.111, no.47. Also see another sold Bonhams, New York, 14 March 2016, lot 112.
The lady’s sharply defined profile suggests the work of a court atelier, where Mughal artistic conventions were adapted to local tastes, specifically those of the princely state of Alwar during the reign of Rao Bane Singh (r. 1815–1857).
Rao Bane Singh was a distinguished patron of the arts, deeply invested in the cultural and aesthetic enrichment of his court. Under his rule, Alwar flourished not only as a political centre but also as a vibrant hub of artistic production. He actively transformed the town and its royal collections, inviting some of the finest painters, calligraphers, and artisans from the Mughal capital of Delhi to work under his patronage. Among them were renowned artists such as Ghulam Ali Khan and Baldev, both of whom brought with them the refined techniques of the Mughal tradition, which they then blended with the bold, emotive style favoured in Rajasthan.
Bane Singh’s patronage extended beyond painting to include literature and architecture, and he played a crucial role in shaping the cultural identity of Alwar in the early 19th century. A particularly notable example of his support for the arts is a portrait of the Rao himself by Baldev, now held in the British Library (Falk and Archer 1981, no. 534). His reign represents a key moment in the regional reinterpretation of Mughal aesthetics, one that contributed to a distinctive school of painting that balanced imperial finesse with local sensibilities.
For a closely related example, formerly in the James Ivory Collection, now in the Louvre Abu Dhabi, see Losty 2010, p.111, no.47. Also see another sold Bonhams, New York, 14 March 2016, lot 112.