Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota (r. 1827-1866) Hunting a Tiger with Maharao Raja Ram Singh of Bundi (r. 1821-1889)

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Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota (r. 1827-1866) Hunting a Tiger with Maharao Raja Ram Singh of Bundi (r. 1821-1889)

India, Rajasthan, Kota, 1885
Drawings; watercolors
Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper
Image: 9 1/2 x 12 3/4 in. (24.13 x 32.38 cm); Sheet: 10 x 13 3/4 in. (25.4 x 34.92 cm)
Anonymous gift (M.75.19)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

The Urdu inscriptions above the horseback figures identify them as portraits of Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota [“Raja Ram Singhji”] (r....
The Urdu inscriptions above the horseback figures identify them as portraits of Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota [“Raja Ram Singhji”] (r. 1827-1866) on the right and Maharao Raja Ram Singh of Bundi [“Rao Raja Ram Singhji”] (r. 1821-1889) on the left. The captions were written on 5 July (18)85 by Ram Narayan, resident of Muradabad [“Muradahbad”] in modern Uttar Pradesh. “Firuz” may be the painter (?). The paintings were owned by Ram Nath Havaldar. (Translation by Z. A. Desai.) Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota (r. 1827-1866) was born in 1808, ascended the throne at age nineteen, and died in 1866. He is portrayed in numerous dated paintings engaged in a wide variety of activity ranging from his official duties (durbars, state meetings, royal processions, and festivals; see M.77.154.21) to his pastimes (hunting, entertainment, and erotic liaisons; see M.77.154.22). In his early portraits in the 1830s his side whiskers are short, but from around 1840 onward they are longer. He wore a distinctive style of headgear of his own design: a flat turban with a peak in the front. Maharao Raja Ram Singh of Bundi (r. 1821-1889) was born in 1811, knighted as Sir Ram Singh in 1877, and died in 1889. He was a learned orthodox Hindu. See his photograph in the Royal Collection Trust, London (RCIN 2107601). Painted in 1885 during the reign of Maharao Chattarsal of Kota (r. 1865-1888), Ram Singh II of Kota fires a rifle at, and Ram Singh of Bundi thrusts a lance into, a tiger mauling a fallen hunter.
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Bibliography

  • El Universo de la India: Obras Maestras del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, 2012.