gouache with gold on paper, the ruler sitting and smoking the hookah, an inscription on the top left corner, within a gold and green floral border

Ex-private collection, New England. Among the old inventory numbers and inscriptions on the reverse is the name Pinto, written in pencil. A number of Indian miniatures belonging to a Mrs Maurice J Pinto were sold in Sotheby’s sale of 17 July 1978, and it is possible that the inscription here refers to a member of the same family.

In generally good condition, minor losses and flaking, minor stains, the leaf damaged with some losses, the reverse with some numbers written in pen and pencil, as viewed.
"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."

This is an interesting and rare portrait of the ruler of Jhaggar, painted in a style close to that of the well-known artist Ghulam Ali Khan. The closest comparison is a painting of Nawab Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Khan of Jhaggar (the son of the present sitter) signed by Ghulam Ali Khan and dated 1272 AH/1855 AD, sold at Sotheby’s, London, 17 June 1999, lot 58 (again, 5 October 2011, lot 151). The general style is very similar, and the pose of the sitter, his clothes and looping huqqa bottle and pipe are almost identical. Ghulam Ali Khan painted this ruler several times between 1845 and 1857. Two group portraits of the Nawab dated 1849 and 1852 depict him in durbar with officials, and show him with long hair (British Library, see Dalrymple and Sharma, Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi 1707-1857, New York, 2012, cats. 77-78); another, dated 1849-50 (ibid, cat 76), shows him with short hair, riding a tiger. There are further examples, such as a hunting scene in the Victoria and Albert Museum (03531.IS). In all the interior scenes the general style is very similar to the present painting, as is the prominent huqqa. The decorative, late Mughal-style border of the present work is also similar to the two British Library pictures. There is also a painting of the same Nawab with a longer beard, again seated in a similar pose and with a prominent huqqa and similar attendant figures, part of a genealogical scroll sold at Christie's, London, 7 April 2011, lot 295, which may also have been by Ghulam Ali Khan.

The sitter in the present painting looks very like the Nawab Muhammad Abd al-Rahman of Jhaggar, but the inscription identifies him as Nawab Faiz Ali Khan Bahadur of Jhaggar (r.1835-45), the father of Nawab Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Khan, and supplies the date 1259 AH/1843 AD, two years before Faiz Ali Khan Bahadur died and was succeeded by his son.