INDIA, RAJASTHAN, MEWAR, DATED 1870

Maharana Shambhu Singh (r. 1861-1874) is shown here hunting boar, which have been lured with bait to his hunting lodge at Nahar Magra in rural Rajasthan. At the center of the vast landscape, Shambhu Singh takes his shot at the largest boar of the group, hitting it solidly in its torso. He is joined by his courtiers Rawat Amar Singh, Thakur Manohar Singh, Badanji, Dhabhai Ganeshlal, Baba Bagh Singh and Hamirji, who are all identified by inscription.
Shambhu Singh ascended to the throne at Udaipur at the young age of fourteen, also ending is reign at an early age due to an untimely death at the age of 27. He was remembered as a liberal and well-managed ruler, implementing various reforms and improving upon public infrastructure in his short time.
The present work can be compared to two similar boar-hunting scenes completed by the artists Tara (active 1836- 1870) and his son Shivalal (active 1858-1893). The earlier, in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria (acc. no. AS280-1980), dated 1845 and signed by Tara, depicts Shambhu Singh’s predecessor Maharana Sarup Singh spear hunting boar in his hunting lodge at Haridas ki Magri. Tara was known to be active until around 1870, when the present painting was created, his final paintings being under the patronage of the young Shambhu Singh (for example, see a processional portrait of Shambhu Singh, dated 1864, in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, acc. no. AS289-1980). Another painting, dated 1868 and signed by Shivalal, depicts Shambhu Singh on a monsoon hunting excursion, see D. Khera and D. Diamond in A Splendid Land: Paintings by Royal Udaipur, Washington D.C., 2023, cat. 71, pp. 286-287. The works by Tara and Shivalal and the present painting all share similar topographical representations, recognized by the repetitive, stylized rows of shrubs and undulating wooded hillocks. Similar topography mirrored in Shivalal’s most well-known final masterpiece depicting Maharana Fateh Singh crossing a river during monsoon, circa 1893, also published in A Splendid Land, cat. 67, pp. 272-275. The present painting is likely by an artist who was trained under Tara’s workshop and instruction, alongside Shivalal who inherited the responsibilities of the chief painter at Mewar from his father.