Raja Gulab Singh (1792–1857) of Jammu and Kashmir

c. 1830–40

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Medium

Gum tempera, gold, and silver on paper

Measurements

Overall: 19.8 x 13.8 cm (7 13/16 x 5 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of J. H. Wade 1925.1338

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877–1947), who sold this painting to the CMA, was a curator of Indian art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and a prolific author of art historical and philosophical works.

Description

Raja Gulab Singh of the Dogra dynasty projects royal power by smoking a hookah carried alongside his horse. His umbrella signifies royalty, and the sword and shield indicate his status as a warrior. In 1846, he founded the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which he succeeded in expanding well into the Himalayas.

Previously, he served as a military commander for the Sikhs, a religious group originating in India’s northwestern Punjab region. Though Hindu, this portrait depicts him without any visible indication of his religious affiliation. After the mid-1800s, fewer Pahari kings commissioned painted portraits, since most preferred the new medium of photography.