AN OVAL PORTRAIT OF A COURTLY LADY
Possibly Lucknow or Varanasi (Benares), Northern India, early 20th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on wove paper, the oval portrait depicting a heavily bejewelled Indian maiden with fair skin and light blue-greyish eyes, wearing a light blue gown and wrapped in a vermillion red shawl, a white scarf covering her head, holding small blossoms in her hand, the interior inspired by Western models with an ionic column and a garden view to the left, set within black and light green borders, the back with a stamped Indian princely state with monogram in the centre and a faded inscription reading Masuda Library (Ajmer) around the edges, below the signature of Indrajit Singh in black ink, mounted on a later white cardboard frame, the portrait 26cm x 20.5cm, 48.4cm x 33cm including the frame.