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Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu taking his bath prior to worship
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Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu taking his bath prior to worship
- Object:
Painting
- Place of origin:
Panjab, Afghanistan (made)
- Date:
ca. 1835 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Opaque watercolour on paper
- Credit Line:
P. C. Manuk and Miss G. M. Coles Bequest, through The Art Fund
- Museum number:
IS.37-1949
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This painting was done in the Panjab Plains, probably about1835, and is typical of the style associated with the court of the first Sikh Maharaja of the Panjab, Ranjit Singh (r.1801–1839). It depicts the Hindu Raja of Jammu performing ritual ablutions prior to worship.
Gulab Singh was one of the many Hindus in the army of the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, joining in 1809. He succeeded his father, Kishora Singh, in 1822 as chief of the kingdom of Jammu, now part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and was a successful ruler as well as a fine soldier, serving in various campaigns in the Panjab hills and Kashmir. His loyalty to the Sikh state did not survive the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, however. He passed military intelligence to the British during the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845–1846, for which he was rewarded by being made ruler of Kashmir in addition to remaining ruler of the adjacent kingdom of Jammu.
The painting was formerly owned by the renowned collectors P. C. Manuk, an Indian lawyer, and his companion Miss G. M. Coles.
