INDIA | JODHPUR - Kapoor Galleries

A Prince and Princess on a Terrace
Jodhpur
19th century

A Prince and Princess on a Terrace
Jodhpur, 19th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
10 1/8 x 5 7/8 in. (25.7 x 14.9 cm.)

Provenance:
Dunkelman Gallery, Toronto.
An Important Collection of Indian Miniature Paintings from a Private Toronto Estate.

Maharaja Javan Singh
Jodhpur (Marwar)
Circa 1840

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Maharaja Javan Singh
Jodhpur (Marwar), circa 1840
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
10 1/3 x 8 1/4 in. (26.2 x 21 cm.)

Provenance:
Maison Soustiel.

Exhibited & Published:
Miniatures Orientales de l’Inde, Maison Soustiel, Paris, 1973.

A Maharaja with Two Courtesans
Marwar (Jodhpur)
19th century

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A Maharaja with Two Courtesans
Marwar (Jodhpur), 19th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
9 3/4 x 5 7/8 in. (24.8 x 14.9 cm.)

Provenance:
An important collection of Indian Miniature Paintings from a private Toronto estate.

Equestrian Portrait
Jodhpur
Circa 1800

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Equestrian Portrait
Jodhpur, circa 1800
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
11 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. (29.2 x 23.5 cm.)

Provenance:
An important collection of Indian Miniature Paintings from a private Toronto estate.

Sohni Swimming Across the River to Meet Her Lover Mahiwal
Jodhpur
Circa 1880

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Sohni Swimming Across the River to Meet Her Lover Mahiwal
Jodhpur, circa 1880
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
12 x 9 1/4 in. (30.5 x 23.5 cm.)

This illustration portrays the tragic Punjabi romance of Sohni Mahiwal – one of four famous tragic romances, the others being Sassi Punnun, Mirza Sahiba, and Heer Ranjha. The narrative dates to the 18th century, and revolves around two star-crossed lovers. The nayika Sohni is in a loveless marriage to a man she detests, but finds that she has true feelings for the buffalo herder Mahiwal. She swims across the river every night to rendezvous with him, using an earthenware pot to keep her afloat. Eventually, her sister in law finds out about the affair, and replaces the pot with an unfinished clay pot that disintegrates in the water, leaving Sohni to drown, never seeing Mahiwal again.

For another illustration of this romance, see accession number M.72.2.1 from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Maharaja Vijay Singh of Marwar
Jodhpur
1805-1815
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper

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Maharaja Vijay Singh of Marwar
Jodhpur, 1805-1815
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
Image: 10 3⁄4 x 15 in. (27.3 x 63.5 cm.)
Folio: 12 1⁄2 x 17 in. (32 x 43 cm.)

Provenance:
Private European collection.

This scene is a posthumous portrait commemorating Maharaja Vijay Singh of Jodhpur (b. 1729, r. 1752-1793 and 1772-1793). It may be surmised that the present work is an imagined depiction intended to underscore the rightful lineage to the throne as claimed by Maharaja Man Singh, under whose reign this painting was produced.

The raja is depicted among his relatives and courtiers in a darbar or formal audience. Three young Rathore princes, each with a sun emblem in their turban, sit on folded knees before him with their hands uniformly pressed in respect. Other members of their entourage, nobles from the ruling families of Marwar, are seated in attendance behind them, holding black dhal shields with their katars visible in their waistbands. Thakurs sit and stand behind Bijay Singh holding various symbols of rank and authority, one waving a ceremonial flag.

Behind the group, a backdrop of brilliant crimson— a wall adorned with gold floral sprays, capped by a repeated motif of floral gold niche designs—runs along the top. This backdrop appears to be a motif employed during the reign of Man Singh. Another painting from the period, attributed to the artist Udai Ram, depicts Man Singh visiting the Nath holyman, Jallandharnathji, and likewise shows a similar backdrop of crimson and gold florals with a cap of gold niches lining the top of the image (see R. Crill, Marwar Painting, Mumbai, 1999, fig.126, p.151.).

For a very similar courtly painting from nineteenth-century Marwar, see Ducrot, Daljeet, & Cimino’s Four centuries of Rajput painting: Mewar, Marwar, and Dhundhar, Milan, 2009, p. 108, MA 20. This comparable painting depicts a later Maharaja of Marwar whose dressed turban is ornamented in a nearly identical fashion. Both wear an orange Rathore-style pagri adorned with an aigrette, jewels and a circular radiant-sun emblem. Note the simple approach to the sky against the otherwise-detailed palace scene and the attempted use of perspective with the canopy.

Maharaja Abhai Singh Receiving Thakur Bhandari Girdhar Das
Jodhpur
Circa 1725-1735

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Maharaja Abhai Singh Receiving Thakur Bhandari Girdhar Das
Jodhpur, circa 1725-1735
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
12 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. (31.1 x 24.8 cm.)

Provenance:
The collection of Robert O. Muller.
Christie’s New York, 14 September 2010, lot 203.

Published:
Rosemary Crill, Marwar Painting, a History of the Jodhpur Style (Mumbai: India Book House, 2000), p. 75, fig. 46.

Maharaja Abhai Singh (b. 1702) who ruled Jodhpur from 1724 to 1749, sits here larger than life on a silver throne, holding a small ceremonial whisk and an upright sheathed sword. Two courtiers stand behind him, one waving a morchal (a peacock-feathered whisk) as a symbol of his royal authority. He is receiving his thakur (vassal) Bhandari Girghar Das, a Rathore nobleman from a Marwari thikana or fiefdom who kneels respectfully at his feet.

Abhai Singh sits looking blatantly up past the petitioning vassal. He is dressed in a long, brilliant orange pleated jama with a gold floral designed patka and strands of pearls and precious gems weigh down his shoulders. His head is topped with a silk Rathore-style pagri that sports ornate jewels and pearls, surmounted by a fine sarpech, his bare feet resting on a small plinth.

The group is depicted like a frieze or still-life against the marble wall of a white pavilion with two swimming ducks and a fountain positioned below. He is depicted here in his full majesty and authority–still a relatively young man, probably in his late twenties.