A devanagari inscription on the reverse identifies the rider as Rawat Gokuldas [II], the horse as Karnipasas, and the artist as Bhopa (India, active circa 1760-1790?). Rawat Gokuldas II (r. 1786–1821) ascended the throne at about age ten as the 9th Rawat (chieftain) of Devgarh (or Deogarh). He was a great patron of palatial and fortress architecture, but was less supportive of painting in his early reign. Reportedly about 6’6” in height, he rode large Turkish stallions that could bear his stature and weight. He hosted Maharana Bhim Singh of Udaipur (r. 1778-1828), during his visit to Deogarh in 1782. See also M.74.102.3 and AC1993.191.2.
This youthful portrait of Rawat Gokuldas II was likely painted near the time of his accension in 1786. A contemporaneous equestrian portrait of Rawat Gokuldas II is in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. Both of these early portraits and others portray the young chieftain as beardless, whereas by at least 1793 he is consistently depicted with a full beard. He wears the royal turban jewels of a feather plume with a gold feather brooch and a sarpati (horizontal tripartite ornament) tied around his turban with a striped ribbon. He has pearl jewelry, a punch dagger (katar) tucked into his waist sash, and a shield slung over his shoulders.
A comparable equestrian portrait of Maharana Ari Singh II (r. 1761-1773) dated 1761 by the same artist Bhopa, son of Naga, is in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (AS170-1980).
