A Prince on a Stallion

Raghogarh was an outlying court on the Rajasthan/Madya Pradesh border south of Bundi and Kota. It had painting studios from the late 17th century onwards. Their paintings usually had a flat background made with a wash of plain colour.

This is an equestrian portrait of the statuesque Rajput Prince riding a roan-coloured stallion. He wears an orange jama which fastens under the left arm in Hindu style and a typical Raghogarh turban. He is posing for the portrait fully armed, with a sword and shield, a katar dagger, and a quiver of arrows. His stem face is typically Rajput. The plain blue background emphasises his importance. He is probably a relative of the Raja shown in another watercolour in the collection (636).

Description taken from the ‘Art From The Indian Sub-Continent In The Sainsbury Centre’ catalogue by Margaret A. Willey (Sainsbury Centre, UEA, 1995).