Rao Shatrujit Singh (r. 1762-1801), shown in profile, was the sixth ruler of Datia, a small kingdom in the Bundelkhand region of present-day Madhya Pradesh founded in 1626 by Rao Bhagwan Singh (r. 1626-1656). Datia was originally part of Orchha (founded in 1531) and came under British control with other central Indian princely states under the Treaty of Bassein in 1802. Shatrujit Singh was known as one of Datia’s most gallant rulers. He increased its territory and effectively repulsed external threats. In 1801 he fell in battle against the army of the Maratha leader, Daulat Rao Sindhia (1794-1827). In this painting, Shatrujit Singh sits astride his favorite horse, a chestnut stallion named Hayaraja ("king of horses"). He and his unknown companion each wear a distinctive central Indian flat turban. They each carry what appears to be a pole mace (gada) with a long annular pattern haft and red tassels. Shatrujit Singh is portrayed in the facial profile view traditionally used for Indian rulers, but his companion is shown with a three-quarter view face, which likely reflects perspectival assimilation from European artistic traditions introduced via the Mughals. The riders are accompanied by two saluki hunting dogs whose leaping postures mimic the galloping horses. Behind the figures is a lotus pond and mountainous landscape. A comparable portrait of Shatrujit Singh is in the Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin–Madison (2005.1.10).
