Important Notice

NAGAUR, CIRCA 1750
Gouache on paper heightened with gold
Image size: 17 x 24.75 in (43.2 x 63 cm)
Folio size: 17.75 x 25.75 in (45.4 x 65.8 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
The Motichand Khajanchi Collection


Nagaur was one of the centres of the Marwar shool of painting which was at its zenith under the patronage of Bakhat Singh, who ruled Nagaur from 1724-1751 and Jodhpur from 1751-1752. Bakhat Singh received the jagir of Nagaur from his elder brother Abhai Singh, in appreciation for his help in deposing their father from the throne of Jodhpur.

The present lot, an intricately detailed battle scene, shows the advance of Bakhat Singh's army, possibly against his nephew in 1751. Bakhat Singh often commissioned larger than usual paintings to record important events in his life. The size of the work reflects the importance of the occasion. Seated on a royal horse, he leads an impressive battle formation that includes soldiers as well as a full cavalry of horses, camels and elephants. Typical of the Marwar school is the way the subdued foreground is broken by a hillock in mid-ground. Another part of the battalion is shown beyond the horizon line, creating an added sense of scale to the might of the grand army. Stylised swirling clouds, another feature typical of this school, add to the dynamism and movement of this striking work.

For the likeness of Bakhat Singh, compare with two earlier portraits from the Howard Hodgkin Collection, London, and the Goenka Collection, Mumbai, as seen in Andrew Topsfield and Milo C Beach eds., Indian Painting and Drawing from the Collection of Howard Hodgkin, London: Thames and Hudson, 1992, pp. 72-73 (both illustrated). A related painting of Bakhat Singh on horseback by Dalchand, formerly in the Sven Gahlin Collection, was sold at Sotheby's London, 6 October 2015, lot 57.

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