PROBABLY GULER, PUNJAB HILLS, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

A very similar painting was sold at Sotheby's, New York, 20-21 September 1985, lot 434. Both are similar in palette and style to one in the Victoria and Albert Museum (IS.202-1949). It has been suggested that the Victoria and Albert Museum painting depicts Raja Bhup Singh of Guler who ruled between 1790 and 1826 (W.G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, vol.II, London, 1973, no.58, p.115). The present painting may also depict the Raja Bhup Singh of whom very few paintings are known.