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Artworks
Maharaja Prithvi Singh of Ratlam, (r. 1743-73)
Southern Rajasthan, probably Dungarpur or Ratlam, ascribed to Añchhya (or Incha) Ram, c. 1750-70
Opaque watercolour and gold on paper surrounded by a decorated border
Opaque watercolour and gold on paper surrounded by a decorated border
Folio 36.3 x 28.8 cm; painting: 25 x 18.1 cm, inscription on yellow upper border and on reverse
In a field awash with practically interchangeable portraits of once-important personages, this Indian painting stands out nowadays not for the obscure ruler who enjoys a huqqa pipe, but for the...
In a field awash with practically interchangeable portraits of once-important personages, this Indian painting stands out nowadays not for the obscure ruler who enjoys a huqqa pipe, but for the vital clue it affords about the quirky artist behind it. An inscription written neatly within a segment of the yellow upper border names the subject as Maharaja Prithi (or Prathi) Singh and the painter as Anchhya Ram. The identification of the heavyset, bull-necked figure is seemingly corroborated by a Devanagari inscription on the reverse that further qualifies the sitter as Prithvi Singh, Maharaja of Ratanpur, a locale in Odisha. This information, however, is complicated by an inscription written in pencil in English that states that this Prithi (or Prithvi) Singh ruled 1743-73, a chronological range that necessarily points instead to Maharaja Prithvi Singh of Ratlam, a place in northwestern Madhya Pradesh. Another inscribed portrait of Prithvi Singh of Ratlam in a much different style visually confirms this identification (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1979.12.1).
Full description by John Seyller available by request