A PORTRAIT OF MAHARAJA RAI SINGH OF BIKANER (R. 1574 - 1612)
Possibly Bikaner or Jaipur, Rajasthan, North-Western India, ca. 1880 - 1900

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on wove paper, the vertical-format standing portrait depicting Maharaja Rai Singh of Bikaner with an irradiating halo, leaning on a golden cane, wearing a white muslin jama with a bright orange sash around his waist and gold-embroidered red pajama trousers, the portrait set in an idealised landscape, within black and white rules, and a bright red border, with an identifying black ink Devanagari inscription at the top, the reverse with two further lines of black ink Devanagari script at the top and stamped in the middle with the mark of Bikaner Maharaja's personal collection, last checked 17 August 1964 and with inventory number 592, mounted on white cardboard, the folio 24.3cm x 16.2cm, 45cm x 35cm including the mount.