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Lot Essay
Gobind Singh was the tenth and last nanak or Sikh preacher. He is credited with having formalised the religion. Contemporaneous to the Emperor Aurangzeb, he faced the Mughal armies and was finally assassinated in 1708 while at camp expecting a Mughal delegation sent by Aurangzeb’s successor, Bahadur Shah, to broker peace.
Portraits of gurus are idealised as opposed to realistic likenesses. Painters relied on oral tradition and existing literature, either sacred or profane, to form an iconography (Susan Stronge (ed.), The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, London, 1999, p. 209 and pl.32, p.36, p.209). Gorbind Singh’s falcon and wrist umbrella bearer denotes power and royalty whilst a following angel holding a flywhisk, as seen in the portrait illustrated ibid 1999, pl.32, p.36, signify saintlhood.
Another equestrian portrait of Gobind Singh showing him with a flacon on his wrist and followed by an umbrella bearer sold at Christie’s, South Kensington, 23 April 2012, lot 324.
Portraits of gurus are idealised as opposed to realistic likenesses. Painters relied on oral tradition and existing literature, either sacred or profane, to form an iconography (Susan Stronge (ed.), The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, London, 1999, p. 209 and pl.32, p.36, p.209). Gorbind Singh’s falcon and wrist umbrella bearer denotes power and royalty whilst a following angel holding a flywhisk, as seen in the portrait illustrated ibid 1999, pl.32, p.36, signify saintlhood.
Another equestrian portrait of Gobind Singh showing him with a flacon on his wrist and followed by an umbrella bearer sold at Christie’s, South Kensington, 23 April 2012, lot 324.