A STANDING PORTRAIT OF THE MAHARAJA DULEEP SINGH (1838 - 1893)
AFTER FRANZ XAVIER WINTERHALTER (1805 - 1873)
Possibly England, 20th century, signed I. Aubrey

Oil on canvas, the vertical composition a homage to F. X. Winterhalter's original portrait dating 1854 and part of the Royal Collection Trust, commissioned by Queen Victoria herself, the last Maharaja of Punjab portrayed here wearing a loose yellow robe over tight trousers, with a voluminous yellow and red sash around his waist and a green shawl around his left shoulder, depicted with traditional Indian jewellery like gold hoop earrings with emerald pendants and an elaborate diamond and emerald-encrusted turban ornament (sarpeech), around his neck several strands of pearls and a jewel-framed Western miniature of Queen Victoria, signed in red I. Aubrey to the lower-left corner, stretched, 91cm x 61cm.

The relationship between Duleep Singh and England was surely a complex one. After handing over the Koh-i Noor diamond to Queen Victoria as part of the treaty following the end of the Second Anglo-Sikh War and having been forced to resign his sovereignty as Maharaja of Lahore in 1849, Duleep was brought to England in 1854. It didn't take him long to become a close friend of the royal family, visiting them twice (in 1854 and 1856) at Osborne on the Isle of Wight and inviting the Prince of Wales to shooting parties on his estate at Elveden Hall in Suffolk. This close relationship with the Queen is substantiated in the painting by the presence of her miniature, which the Maharaja is wearing as a piece of jewellery around his neck and close to his heart. For further reference on the original painting by Winterhalter, please see https://www.rct.uk/collection/403843/the-maharaja-duleep-singh-1838-93.

A very precise lithograph of the original 1854 painting is part of the National Portrait Gallery's collection and it was executed by Richard James Lane (NPG D22439). A similar painting after the F. X. Winterhalter's original was successfully sold at Christie's London, 26 October 2007, lot 120. This painting was unsigned, differently from ours.