gouache heightened with gold on paper, two principle cartouches on a floral ground reserved on blue, surrounded by a border of 24 vignette roundels reserved on a floral gold ground, with silver, buff and black ruled borders

"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Maharaja Ranbir Singh (1830-85) was the third son of Raja Gulab Singh of the Hindu Dogra dynasty of Jammu and Kashmir, who served under Ranjit Singh, the first Sikh ruler of the Punjab. Ranbir Singh succeeded his father Gulab Singh in 1857 and reigned until his death in 1885 between Lahore and Amritsar. Portraits of Ranbir are recognisable by his distinctive upwardly pointing moustache and Dogra-style rounded bejeweled turban. A similar portrait from 1850 of Ranbir Singh holding a sword and leant against a bolster is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (IS.202-1955, illustrated in Archer 1973, p.160, no.73). There are numerous paintings of Ranbir alongside his father Gulab Singh (r.1792-1857) (Victoria and Albert Museum IS.13-1956), and a painting in The British Museum circa 1846-47 depicts Ranbir Singh at the signing of the Treaty of Bhairowal in 1846 (Stronge 1999, pp.24-25, no.18). Further portraits in the Victoria and Albert Museum are illustrated in Archer 1966 cat 54, 57, 58, 59.

Unusually in this painting the Rani has been given as much prominence as her husband Ranbir Singh. Depicted with an attendant preparing garlands to adorn a small Vaishnavite shrine, the Rani's face is rendered in the typical idealised Pahari style. The vignette roundels illustrate the twenty-four Sikh Vaishnavite avatars, numbered and identified in white ink as follows:

1. Varaha 13. Kurma 2. Yajna 14. Narasimha 3. Kapil the sage 15. Gajendra Moksha 4. Dattatray 16. Vamana 5. Four Kumaras 17. Hamsa 6. Narada 18. Rama 7. Nara Narayana 19. Dhanvantari 8. Vishnu /Dhruva 20. Parashurama 9. Prithu 21. Krishna 10. Rishabha 22. Brahma 11. Hayagriva 23. Buddha 12. Matsya 24. Kalki.

Apparently similar paintings illustrating the Vaishnavite avatars originally adorned the walls of the Maharaja's Palace at Sher Gahi.