Not currently on display at the V&A

Raja Balwant Singh

Painting
ca. 1750 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, Raja Balwant Singh, with a huqqa and attendants, examining a horse. Balwant Singh is depicted wearing a dark green jama and green and crimson conical turban, sits on a gold throne with purple cushions, holding a huqqa. Behind him stand four attendants in dark yellow, dark green, mauve and slate-blue jamas holding respectively a peacock feather fan, a sword and a black shield. Two courtiers in pale yellow and white jams sit on a red rug with brown stripes, on a white terrace with balustrade containing rectangular compartments. Behind the party is a white wall with gold-coloured door. Below the terrace, a groom in white, ankle-length jama parades a chocolate-coloured stallion with black mane, tail and legs and orange saddle edged with green. Behind the horse stretches a large brownish-mauve courtyard, with streaks of green. In the distance is a long wall from which a small house projects, containing a verandah covered with a red rug, a grey wall, white cushions and a white blind, striped with crimson. On either side are two shuttered windows, to the right are two grooms conducting two horses, one grey, the other brown.

In this portrait, an atmosphere of courtly luxury is invoked, Balwant Singh being shown with calm dignity seated on a richly-decorated throne, the whole surroundings bespeaking the spacious comfort of a large and flourishing establishment. The throne with its two tiger heads is especially significant, since it vividly expresses his own sense of private grandeur. Despite the remains of a courtyard in the palace ruins at Saruin, the present building is more probably the large mansion which he may have owned in Jammu and where he would probably have lived while assisting his eldest brother, Raja Ranjit Dev, in the early years of the latter's return from exile.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleRaja Balwant Singh (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour on paper
Brief description
Painting, Raja Balwant Singh, by Nainsukh, opaque watercolour on paper, Jammu, ca. 1750
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, Raja Balwant Singh, with a huqqa and attendants, examining a horse. Balwant Singh is depicted wearing a dark green jama and green and crimson conical turban, sits on a gold throne with purple cushions, holding a huqqa. Behind him stand four attendants in dark yellow, dark green, mauve and slate-blue jamas holding respectively a peacock feather fan, a sword and a black shield. Two courtiers in pale yellow and white jams sit on a red rug with brown stripes, on a white terrace with balustrade containing rectangular compartments. Behind the party is a white wall with gold-coloured door. Below the terrace, a groom in white, ankle-length jama parades a chocolate-coloured stallion with black mane, tail and legs and orange saddle edged with green. Behind the horse stretches a large brownish-mauve courtyard, with streaks of green. In the distance is a long wall from which a small house projects, containing a verandah covered with a red rug, a grey wall, white cushions and a white blind, striped with crimson. On either side are two shuttered windows, to the right are two grooms conducting two horses, one grey, the other brown.

In this portrait, an atmosphere of courtly luxury is invoked, Balwant Singh being shown with calm dignity seated on a richly-decorated throne, the whole surroundings bespeaking the spacious comfort of a large and flourishing establishment. The throne with its two tiger heads is especially significant, since it vividly expresses his own sense of private grandeur. Despite the remains of a courtyard in the palace ruins at Saruin, the present building is more probably the large mansion which he may have owned in Jammu and where he would probably have lived while assisting his eldest brother, Raja Ranjit Dev, in the early years of the latter's return from exile.
Dimensions
  • Height: 292mm
  • Width: 386mm
  • Paper mount onto which object attached; also absolute maximum dimension of object height: 352mm
  • Paper mount onto which object attached; also absolute maximum dimension of object width: 501mm
  • Image within innermost painted borders height: 245mm
  • Paper mount onto which object attached; also absolute maximum dimension of object width: 340mm
19/06/2013 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013
Content description
Raja Balwant Singh, with a huqqa and attendants, examining a horse.
Style
Marks and inscriptions
(inscribed in Takri characters on top border; there is also an additional illegible inscription)
Translation
'Mian Mukand Dev portrayed on a riding picnic. Amal is the singing-girl'
Transliteration
'miyan mukund de sher shikar karan phirde likh de amal kachni he'
Object history
From the collection of Dr W.B.Manley, Guildford. Formerly in the possession of Durgi Raina, Pacca Danga, Jammu.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Skelton, Robert, et al, The Indian Heritage. Court life and Arts under Mughal Rule London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982 Topsfield, Andrew, cat. no. 164
  • Topsfield, Andrew, An introduction to Indian Court Painting, H.M.S.O., London, 1984, 0112903835 p. 38, cat. no. 31
  • Indian paintings from the Punjab Hills : a survey and history of Pahari miniature painting / by W. G. Archer ; foreword by Sherman E. Lee. London :Delhi: Sotheby Parke Bernet ;Oxford University Press, 1973 Number: 0856670022 p. 200, cat. no. 34
Collection
Accession number
IS.8-1973

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Record createdMay 28, 2009
Record URL
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