λ AN IVORY PORTRAIT OF MAHARAJA BAHADUR SRI SIR ISHWARI PRASAD NARAYAN SINGH (1822 - 1889), RULER OF BENARES
Delhi School, North India, circa 1880 - 1900

Opaque pigments on ivory, the square ivory miniature portraying the Maharaja of Benares, Ishwari Prasad Narayan Singh, proud ally of the British who granted him the rank of Maharaja Bahadur in 1859, depicted in a relaxed pose holding the mouthpiece of a huqqa (water pipe), his characteristic moustache hiding a gentle smile, richly dressed and heavily bejewelled wearing several strands of pearl, a caparisoned gem-encrusted sarpech (turban ornament) and on the side a turra (pin-shaped turban ornament) with five strings of pearls, a large floral sash tied around his waist, 11cm x 9.5cm.

For a similar miniature of the same ruler, please see these Rooms, 11 December 2019, lot 201. The image used for this miniature seems to have been quite popular and multiple examples must have been produced. The inspiration could have derived from either black and white photographs of the time, which started to be widely circulated around India from the middle of the 19th century onward, or perhaps other forms of paintings like the reverse glass painting of Ishwari Prasad Narayan Singh published in Prof. Anna L. Dallapiccola, Reverse Glass Painting in India, 2017, p. 205.

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