A RAJPUT MAHARANA PERFORMING PUJA
Mewar, Rajasthan, North-Western India, late 18th - 19th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold and silver on paper, the vertical portrait depicting a Rajput maharana, possibly either Jai Singh of Mewar (r. 1680 - 1698) or his predecessor, Raj Singh of Mewar (r. 1652 - 1680), dressed in the typical ochre yellow clothing reserved to special religious ceremonies and prayers (puja), his bare chest covered by several strands of pearls and emerald beads necklaces with encrusted pendants, his right hand covered with a gold-embroidered red cloth, possibly used as a mouth cover in specific moments of the puja requiring utter purity, seated on a red floor spread and against a large matching bolster, set within dark blue borders decorated with silver floral sprays, 14.2cm x 17cm.