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76<br />
CHATAR SINGH AT WORSHIP<br />
CHAMBA, NORTH <strong>INDIA</strong>, CIRCA 1690<br />
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper,<br />
the ruler standing left worshiping a large foral<br />
linga rising from a lotus leaf, wearing a white<br />
pajama and red turban, hands held together,<br />
a priest holding prayer beads sitting under a<br />
blossoming tree, a white domed pavilion in the<br />
background, in thin red margins<br />
10Ω x 10æin. (26.7 x 27.3cm.)<br />
£20,000-30,000 $29,000-43,000<br />
€25,000-37,000<br />
The reign of Chatar Singh of Chamba (r. 1664-90)<br />
saw greater independence from Mughal rule. In<br />
1678, the Raja is known to have defed an order<br />
from Aurangzeb to demolish all Hindu temples<br />
and this depiction of him worshiping a lingam<br />
may suggest that he was keen to encourage<br />
Hindu faith through royal portraiture. Chatar<br />
Singh ordered gilt pinnacles be placed atop each<br />
Hindu shrine, three of which are visible on the<br />
present painting (Rose Hutchison, Gazeeter of the<br />
Chamba State, New Delhi, 1996, p.94).<br />
Two portraits of Chatar Singh, recognizable by<br />
his distinctive black beard, show him attended<br />
by courtiers (circa 1680, National Museum,<br />
Delhi) and visiting a shrine of Rama (circa 1680,<br />
Private Collection, Chamba). Both paintings are<br />
published in W.G. Archer, Indian Paintings from<br />
the Punjab Hills, 1973, vol.I, p.65 and vol.II, fg.1, 2,<br />
p.50. In the second painting, Chatar Singh wears<br />
the same attire of a devotee as in the present<br />
work: white pajamas secured with a string ending<br />
in two tassels, with bare chest and his shoulders<br />
covered with a black shawl with foral borders,<br />
a corner of which the raja keeps tight under his<br />
arm. The shrine in that painting is very similar<br />
to the present pavilion, with a large fat dome<br />
fanked by two smaller ones, each with simple<br />
foral decoration.<br />
77<br />
KRISHNA LIFTS MOUNT GOVARDHAN<br />
PROBABLY KANGRA, NORTH <strong>INDIA</strong>, LATE<br />
18TH CENTURY<br />
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper,<br />
Krishna standing on a golden platform lifts the<br />
mountain to protect the villagers and cowherds<br />
from the torrential rains sent by Indra, mount<br />
Erawan above, in foral margins, mounted<br />
11Ω x 9Ωin. (29.2 x 24.2cm.)<br />
£4,000-6,000 $5,700-8,500<br />
€5,000-7,500<br />
Visit www.christies.com for additional<br />
information on this lot<br />
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