MAHARAJA VIJAY SINGH OF JODHPUR VISITS KISHANGARHKISHANGARH, LATE 18TH CENTURY Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; the inscription in the upper margin in devanagari identifies the ruler Rawat Bijay (Vijay) Singh and the kavi (poet), Mathuresh Dev. Image: 10 1/8 x 7 7/8 in. (25.7 x 20 cm); Folio: 16 3/8 x 12 3/4 in. (41.6 x 32.4 cm) Standing regally on a pavilion overlooking Lake Gundalao, Maharajah Vijay Singh, his courtiers behind him, holds his sword as he is weed by a local ruler presenting two hawks. A poet with manuscript stands nearby amidst flowering greenery. A royal barge gently plies the serene waters of the lake, with the city silhouetted on the horizon. Soldiers with horses and an elephant patrol the mountains in the distance. Typical of mid-18th century Kishangar portraiture, the prince and his courtiers stand in exaggerated poses with their chests thrust forward and backs arched—a posture which seems to have been established by the epoch's most celebrated artist, Nihal Chand, who first represented his ruler Savant Singh (b.1699) in this polished fashion (see Barrett & Gray, Indian Paintings , 1963, p. 15). Maharaja Vijay Singh (1729–1793), was the Raja of Marwar Kingdom (First Reign September 1752–January 1753); Second Reign (September 1772-July 1793). He succeeded on the death of his father, Maharaja Bakht Singh, on September 21, 1752. He recovered Ajmer for a brief period and seized Godwar (from Mewar) and Amarkot. On January 31,1753, he was deposed by Maharaja Ram Singh. He re-ascended the gadi for the second time after the death of Maharaja Ram Singh in 1772 and died at Mehrangarh, Jodhpur, on July 17, 1793. pare the portrait of Maharaja Sarda Singh sold at Sotheby's, London, 9 December 1980, lot 100, and another of Raja Bahadur Singh, sold at Sotheby's, London, 26 April 1994, lot 12. Provenance: Sotheby's, London, 23 May 2006, lot 82 Xavier Guerrand-Hermès, Paris Sotheby's, Paris, 18 November 2013, lot 116