A PORTRAIT OF A HUNTING DOG


MEWAR, 18TH CENTURY Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Image: 6 3/4 x 10 1/2 in. (17.1 x 26.6 cm);Folio: 8 x 11 7/8 in. (20.3 x 30.2 cm)
|His portrait indicates the dog was favored within Mewar's court, not only for his gold-bead collar and larger gold necklace with suspended floral pedants, but also for his well-groomed condition. The treatment of his snout suggests the painter afforded him a greater sense of naturalism than the hunting dogs depicted in various hunting scenes from Ari Singh through to Sajjan Singh; see Kossak, Indian Court Painting, New York, 1997, p.125, no.78, for a portrait of a hunting dog accompanying Bhim Singh. Single portraits of favored animals with plain backgrounds were common throughout Rajput courts, and dogs were particularly favored at Devgarh; see Tooth, Indian Paintings, London, 1974, no.64 and 1975, no.49 for dogs with similar ornamental collars. Provenance Collection of George Andrew Spottiswoode (1827-1899), London Thence by descent to the current owner