Raja Gulab Singh (1792–1857) of Jammu and Kashmir

Unknown artist, c. 1830–40

Download2416 × 3400 px View on a wall Edit

Medium: Gum tempera, gold, and silver on paper
Size: Overall: 19.8 x 13.8 cm (7 13/16 x 5 7/16 in.)
Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

Raja Gulab Singh of the Dogra dynasty projects royal power by smoking a hookah carried alongside his horse. His umbrella signifies royalty, and the sword and shield indicate his status as a warrior. In 1846, he founded the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which he succeeded in expanding well into the Himalayas.

Previously, he served as a military commander for the Sikhs, a religious group originating in India’s northwestern Punjab region. Though Hindu, this portrait depicts him without any visible indication of his religious affiliation. After the mid-1800s, fewer Pahari kings commissioned painted portraits, since most preferred the new medium of photography.