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Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Painting
ca. 1840 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) became the first Sikh maharaja of the Panjab in 1801 and remained ruler until his death. He is shown here with traditional emblems of royalty, a parasol held over his head, and a turban jewel. The painting was formerly in the collection of Queen Mary, and English inscriptions on paintings in the same group suggest that the first (unknown) British owner acquired the series between October 1839 and November 1840.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleMaharaja Ranjit Singh (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Brief description
Painting, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Punjab Plain, ca. 1840
Physical description
Painting, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, dressed entirely in green, rides a white stallion with henna-dyed fetlocks and a crimson saddle-cloth edged with yellow. He faces right. An attendant with orange turban, yellow shawl and white jama, holds a crimson parasol over the maharaja's head. The foreground is green; the background a pale greyish blue with blue sky at the top.
Dimensions
  • Height: 20.3cm
  • Width: 13.4cm
  • With border height: 26.1cm
  • With border width: 19.7cm
  • Image within innermost painted borders height: 202mm (maximum)
  • Image within innermost painted borders width: 133mm
  • Height: 263mm (maximum)
  • Width: 197mm (maximum)
24/07/2013 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013
Style
Marks and inscriptions
'Maharaja Ranjeet Singh but not a very good likeness' (handwritten on back of object)
Credit line
Given by H. M. Queen Mary.
Object history
Formerly in the collection of Queen Mary.
Production
Sikh
Subjects depicted
Summary
Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) became the first Sikh maharaja of the Panjab in 1801 and remained ruler until his death. He is shown here with traditional emblems of royalty, a parasol held over his head, and a turban jewel. The painting was formerly in the collection of Queen Mary, and English inscriptions on paintings in the same group suggest that the first (unknown) British owner acquired the series between October 1839 and November 1840.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Paintings of the Sikhs / W.G. Archer. London: H. M. Stationery Office, 1966 cat. 14 p. 139 and fig. 27.
Collection
Accession number
IM.56-1936

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Record createdJuly 19, 2005
Record URL
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