A SEATED PORTRAIT OF RAJA AJMAT DEV OF MANKOT (R. 1730-1760)
Possibly Mankot, Punjab Hills, Northern India, mid to late 19th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold and silver on wove paper, the vertical composition portraying Raja Ajmat Dev of Mankot (ruled ca. 1730 - 1760) seated on the floor of a palatial terrace smoking a huqqa, next to him a golden spittoon and his tulwar sword, resting against a bright red bolster and holding a rosary bead necklace in his right hand, both his forehead and ear marked with turmeric paste resembling the Vaishnava Urdhva Pundra (religious tilaka), the portrait set against a bold ochre-yellow background, within black rules and bright red borders, the recto plain except for some staining, 24.4cm x 18cm.

This painting appears to be a later replica of a renowned portrait of Raja Ajmat Dev of Mankot formerly in the collection of Dr. W.B. Manley and currently part of the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London (inv. no. IS.23-1974). The composition of our lot and of the V&A painting is almost identical and is derived from the same source as a painting in the Chandigarh Museum, which includes the figure of a morchhal bearer, here omitted. The emphasis here and in several Punjab Hills paintings is often on the clearly defined shapes of the subjects and the use of bold primary colours.

For further comparative paintings depicting this ruler, please see Bonhams London, 9 June 2015, lot 435; the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (inv. no. 2008.294); and the collection of Anil Relia (http://www.theindianportrait.com/artwork/raja-ajmat-dev/). All these portraits depict the ruler seated on the floor in a similar position smoking a huqqa, as was the custom in early Pahari portraiture. For further bibliographical reference, please see W. G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, London, 1973, cat. no. 33, p. 378, and S. Stronge, The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, London, 1999, cat. no. 61, p. 216.