Maharaja Pratap Singh (regnal dates unknown) was the ruler of the fiefdom of Rupnagar near Mewar, Rajasthan. During a visit to the kingdom of Kishangarh, Rajasthan, he killed a lion single-handedly on horseback with a sword. Later his heroic feat was celebrated in this painting by the Kishangarh court artist Sita Ram (active circa 1730-1814). A long inscription on the reverse not only identifies the subject and the artist but also provides a poetic description of the hunt and valor of the prince. The prose part tells us how Pratap Singh of Rupnagar engaged a lion while visiting Kishangarh and this picture was painted by Sita Ram. The poem sings the heroic qualities of the royal hunter and compares him with the Hindu god of destruction, Shiva, and his sword to Shiva's wife, Bhavani (Parvati). Little is known about the life of Pratap Singh. A comparable Kishangarh inscribed portrait of “Maharaja Pratap Singh Bahadur, Raja of Rupnagar” hawking, attributed to 1790-1795, was sold at Sotheby’s London, October 2010 (Arts of the Islamic World, sale # L10223, lot 83).
The Rupnagar rulers were descended from the powerful Solanki dynasty of Gujarat and Rajasthan (circa 940-1244) and shared a common ancestor with another Mewar fiefdom, Badnor (see AC1998.52.1 and AC1998.52.2). Rupnagar Fort guarded an important mountain pass between Mewar and Marwar. Due to its strategic location, its rulers were among the most trustworthy and valiant of the Maharana of Mewar's subjects.
