Maharaja Serfoji II (or Sarabhoji II Bhonsle, r. 1798-1832) was born in 1777 in the Maratha royal clan and adopted in 1787 by King Tulajaji II (r. 1763-1787) of Thanjavur (Tanjore). He was tutored by German Lutheran missionaries, Rev. Christian Freidrich Schwartz (1726-1798) in Thanjavur and Rev. Wilhelm Gericke (1743-1803) in Chennai (Madras). He was installed by the British as the titular king of Thanjavur in 1798 until his death in 1832. As a result of his European education and affinity for art and science, he became a brilliant polyglot and polymath. During his enlightened reign, he patronized the development of the fine arts, music, dance, and astronomy. He also fostered diverse research institutes, improved health care and education systems, and created a library of some 4,000 volumes, new public works, and augmented naval resources. An accomplished artist himself, he sponsored portraiture and introduced European realism into court pictorial traditions. Portraits executed during his reign were created in the traditional Mughal and Deccani medium of opaque watercolor on paper as well as European medium of oil painting on canvas. See M.90.141.5.
This bust portrait of Serfoji II as a young man was likely made by an Indian artist trained in oil painting. He wears the traditional Maratha large triangular turban adorned with bejeweled turban ornaments, a feather plume (jigha), and strands of pearls. His visage is distinctive due to his mutton chops and connecting moustache.