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拍品專文
Maharana made good a passage to where Salim commanded. His guards fell before Partap, and but for the steel plates which defended his howda, the lance of the Rajput would have deprived Akbar of his heir. His steed, the gallant Chetak, nobly seconded his lord, and is represented in all the historical drawings of this battle with one foot raised upon the elephant of the Mogul, while his rider has his lance propelled against his foe.
James Tod’s description of the Battle of Haldighati, Annals and Antiques of Rajasthan,Vol. I, Oxford, 1920, p. 393-394.
The Battle of Haldighati, fought in 1576 between the forces of Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar and the Mughal army led by Akbar’s emissary Man Singh I of Amber, remains one of the most enduringly celebrated episodes of Rajput resistance. Although the Rajput warriors were outnumbered and ultimately defeated, the battle became a defining touchstone of Mewar’s martial identity. In this painting, the haloed figure of Pratap Singh appears three times, approaching the battlefield at the upper right, confronting Man Singh in the center, and finally withdrawing at the upper middle right, creating a sequential narrative that heightens the drama of the encounter. The distinctive elephant-like armor of Pratap’s horse, Chetak, a hallmark of Mewari visual tradition, links this work to a small group of paintings depicting the battle at different stages.
As noted by Beach in his comprehensive study of Bagta and Chokha at the Devgarh court, Chokha’s highly productive and important works created in 1822 reveal a marked tendency to revisit and refine his compositions: “Chokha tends to create variations on his compositions, alternate versions that are executed within a short period of time" (M. Beach and R. Singh, Bagta and Chokha, 2005, p. 93). Two other scenes of the Battle of Haldighati are attributed to Chokha; one, dated 'approximately 1815' in the Gursharan and Elivira Sidhu Collection, has been discussed by Joanna Williams (Kingdom of the Sun, 2007, p. 150, no. 27) and the other by Beach and Singh (Bagta and Chokha, 2005, p. 93, fig. 122), where it is dated 'circa 1825'. Beach and Singh also published a version from the collection of Nahar Singh II of Devgarh, dated by inscription to 1822 (ibid., p. 14, figs. 5 and 6). Another version, attributed to Chokha and dated 1810–20, was brought to London by James Tod and survives in the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS 062.001) (see R. M. Cimino, Vita di corte nel Rajasthan, no. 14). A further example on cloth, still preserved in the Udaipur palace collection and described by Andrew Topsfield (Court Painting in Udaipur, 2001, pp. 231, 242), is said to extend to two meters in length and depicts Pratap attacking from the left. Among the versions painted on paper, the present lot is considered the largest of the group.
The enduring influence of Bagta is clearly evident in Chokha’s work. This can be seen, for example, in an equestrian portrait attributed to Chokha in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1997.359), where the rounded eye with a bloodshot lower lid, bushy beard, and backward‑tilted turban closely correspond to the physiognomy of Man Singh I’s mahout in the present work. Similarly, the elephant’s compact, squat, muscular build and the red hoops tied around its back legs reappear in the large-scale depiction of Rawat Gokul Das II at the Singh Sagar Lake Palace in Devgarh, dated 1806 (ibid., 2001, p. 219, fig. 195a). That this visual vocabulary continued to inform Chokha’s later works is a testament to the close artistic relationship between father and son and their collaborative achievements at the Devgarh court. It is also worth noting that the landscape format and the organization of clustered troops closely match those of a processional scene dated 1800, attributed to Bagta and Chokha, depicting Maharana Bim Singh in procession from the Shree Eklingnathji Temple (see D. Diamond and D. Khera, A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur, 2022, pp. 222–223).
Unlike the green backgrounds of the published examples cited above, Chokha has here left the scene almost pure white, as if bleached by the blistering sun, with the undulating hills defined by lightly shaded golden lines with wisps of grass, and a thin strip of green landscape at the bottom. These variations were already part of Chokha’s visual language, as seen in an earlier erotic composite horse dated 1811, which likewise features a near-white landscape and a streaky red sky and is preserved in the collection of Nahar Singh II (M. Beach and R. Singh, Bagta and Chokha, 2005, p. 81, fig. 95). It also appears on a portrait of Maharana Bhim Singh of Mewar (r. 1778-1828) with a consort, which aside from the strip of gold along the upper horizon and the concentric sun, observes the same reserved and abstract treatment of the sky as the present lot (The Cleveland Museum of Art 2018.150). Comparison may also be made with the simple pale green landscape, the similar bushy tufts of grass, and particularly the treatment of the two figures riding the rampaging elephant in a work from a private collection dated circa 1811 (ibid., p. 89, fig. 107).
The frenzy of battle captured in this dynamic composition is unique to Chokha’s style. The closest parallel can be found in a large format narrative painting of Maharana Bhim Singh performs the buffalo sacrifice, Udaipur, c. 1820, attributed to Chokha in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (see A. Topsfield, 2001, p. 23, fig. 209). Unlike the painting here, it lacks the energy and urgency of our battle scene of Haldighati. It is curious that no other scene of the Battle of Haldighati is recorded in any other Rajput court painting, even at Udaipur, suggesting it was special commission.
This painting stands as a powerful embodiment of Rajput valor and the enduring memory of Rana Pratap Singh’s struggle against the Mughal empire. Its impact lies not only in its historical narrative but also in its dazzling composition, fine detail, and expressive use of color, all of which convey the emotional intensity of one of Mewar’s defining battles. The scene appears to expand and contract in response to different narrative moments, challenging the eye to engage in every detail across the surface bring to life and vividly animating this remarkable historical event. As one of the most compelling late eighteenth-century works associated with the Mewar court, it testifies to the artistic brilliance of Chokha and celebrates the resilience of the Rajput tradition.
James Tod’s description of the Battle of Haldighati, Annals and Antiques of Rajasthan,Vol. I, Oxford, 1920, p. 393-394.
The Battle of Haldighati, fought in 1576 between the forces of Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar and the Mughal army led by Akbar’s emissary Man Singh I of Amber, remains one of the most enduringly celebrated episodes of Rajput resistance. Although the Rajput warriors were outnumbered and ultimately defeated, the battle became a defining touchstone of Mewar’s martial identity. In this painting, the haloed figure of Pratap Singh appears three times, approaching the battlefield at the upper right, confronting Man Singh in the center, and finally withdrawing at the upper middle right, creating a sequential narrative that heightens the drama of the encounter. The distinctive elephant-like armor of Pratap’s horse, Chetak, a hallmark of Mewari visual tradition, links this work to a small group of paintings depicting the battle at different stages.
As noted by Beach in his comprehensive study of Bagta and Chokha at the Devgarh court, Chokha’s highly productive and important works created in 1822 reveal a marked tendency to revisit and refine his compositions: “Chokha tends to create variations on his compositions, alternate versions that are executed within a short period of time" (M. Beach and R. Singh, Bagta and Chokha, 2005, p. 93). Two other scenes of the Battle of Haldighati are attributed to Chokha; one, dated 'approximately 1815' in the Gursharan and Elivira Sidhu Collection, has been discussed by Joanna Williams (Kingdom of the Sun, 2007, p. 150, no. 27) and the other by Beach and Singh (Bagta and Chokha, 2005, p. 93, fig. 122), where it is dated 'circa 1825'. Beach and Singh also published a version from the collection of Nahar Singh II of Devgarh, dated by inscription to 1822 (ibid., p. 14, figs. 5 and 6). Another version, attributed to Chokha and dated 1810–20, was brought to London by James Tod and survives in the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS 062.001) (see R. M. Cimino, Vita di corte nel Rajasthan, no. 14). A further example on cloth, still preserved in the Udaipur palace collection and described by Andrew Topsfield (Court Painting in Udaipur, 2001, pp. 231, 242), is said to extend to two meters in length and depicts Pratap attacking from the left. Among the versions painted on paper, the present lot is considered the largest of the group.
The enduring influence of Bagta is clearly evident in Chokha’s work. This can be seen, for example, in an equestrian portrait attributed to Chokha in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1997.359), where the rounded eye with a bloodshot lower lid, bushy beard, and backward‑tilted turban closely correspond to the physiognomy of Man Singh I’s mahout in the present work. Similarly, the elephant’s compact, squat, muscular build and the red hoops tied around its back legs reappear in the large-scale depiction of Rawat Gokul Das II at the Singh Sagar Lake Palace in Devgarh, dated 1806 (ibid., 2001, p. 219, fig. 195a). That this visual vocabulary continued to inform Chokha’s later works is a testament to the close artistic relationship between father and son and their collaborative achievements at the Devgarh court. It is also worth noting that the landscape format and the organization of clustered troops closely match those of a processional scene dated 1800, attributed to Bagta and Chokha, depicting Maharana Bim Singh in procession from the Shree Eklingnathji Temple (see D. Diamond and D. Khera, A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur, 2022, pp. 222–223).
Unlike the green backgrounds of the published examples cited above, Chokha has here left the scene almost pure white, as if bleached by the blistering sun, with the undulating hills defined by lightly shaded golden lines with wisps of grass, and a thin strip of green landscape at the bottom. These variations were already part of Chokha’s visual language, as seen in an earlier erotic composite horse dated 1811, which likewise features a near-white landscape and a streaky red sky and is preserved in the collection of Nahar Singh II (M. Beach and R. Singh, Bagta and Chokha, 2005, p. 81, fig. 95). It also appears on a portrait of Maharana Bhim Singh of Mewar (r. 1778-1828) with a consort, which aside from the strip of gold along the upper horizon and the concentric sun, observes the same reserved and abstract treatment of the sky as the present lot (The Cleveland Museum of Art 2018.150). Comparison may also be made with the simple pale green landscape, the similar bushy tufts of grass, and particularly the treatment of the two figures riding the rampaging elephant in a work from a private collection dated circa 1811 (ibid., p. 89, fig. 107).
The frenzy of battle captured in this dynamic composition is unique to Chokha’s style. The closest parallel can be found in a large format narrative painting of Maharana Bhim Singh performs the buffalo sacrifice, Udaipur, c. 1820, attributed to Chokha in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (see A. Topsfield, 2001, p. 23, fig. 209). Unlike the painting here, it lacks the energy and urgency of our battle scene of Haldighati. It is curious that no other scene of the Battle of Haldighati is recorded in any other Rajput court painting, even at Udaipur, suggesting it was special commission.
This painting stands as a powerful embodiment of Rajput valor and the enduring memory of Rana Pratap Singh’s struggle against the Mughal empire. Its impact lies not only in its historical narrative but also in its dazzling composition, fine detail, and expressive use of color, all of which convey the emotional intensity of one of Mewar’s defining battles. The scene appears to expand and contract in response to different narrative moments, challenging the eye to engage in every detail across the surface bring to life and vividly animating this remarkable historical event. As one of the most compelling late eighteenth-century works associated with the Mewar court, it testifies to the artistic brilliance of Chokha and celebrates the resilience of the Rajput tradition.