Maharana Ari Singh (reg. 1761-73) on horseback hunting a wild boar with a noble companion and attendants on foot
Udaipur, attributed to Bakhta, circa 1762
gouache and gold on paper, black and red borders, inscribed in reverse in nagari script
434 x 470 mm.
Footnotes:
Provenance
Spink and Son, London.
John Fortune, 1997-2013.
Emma Burge, 2014-2022.

The inscription on the back of the painting reads: sri/pano 1 sri maharajdhiraja maharanaji sri arasihaji ri surat ro ghode bhavani bagas asavar sur upare tir bavata thaka dhaabhai rupaji ghode dilkhusal asavar sur upare barachhi bavata thaka kalami citaro bakhate pano ki do vile prohet anop ram re pano.

A further inscription in another hand reads: ori jama maha sud 8 sam 1818 varkh. In addition is a valuation, estimated at a modest 10 rupees.

This early work by Bakhta (who later flourished at the thikana of Deogarh - also spelled 'Bagta') depicts a hunting scene set within a lush green landscape and mountainous backdrop. Maharana Ari Singh and Dhadhai Rupji are armed with a bow and lance and are mounted on Bhavi Bagas and Dilkhushal respectively.

For the painter, see M. C. Beach, Rawat Nahar Singh II, Bagta and Chokha: Master Artists at Devgarh, Zurich 2005, pp. 20-26.
For other works depicting Maharana Ari Singh hunting, see A. Topsfield, Paintings from Rajasthan in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 1980, pp. 110-115; and A. Topsfield, The City Palace Museum Udaipur: Paintings of Mewar Court Life, 1990, pp. 54-67, nos. 17-23.