A prince arbitrating in a dispute between a man and wife
Guler, circa 1820gouache and gold on paper, gilt blue floral border, pink outer border
250 x 185 mm.注脚Provenance
Karl Wilhelm Hiersemann (1854-1928), Leipzig, circa 1930s.

Published
Karl W. Hiersemann, Katalog 626: Indien, 1930s, cat. no. 585 (copy of catalogue entry attached to backboard).
Sotheby's, Fine Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 14th December 1987, lot 86.

The exact subject of this painting is unclear. When first described in a catalogue by the Leipzig firm of booksellers Karl W. Hiersemann in the 1930s, no clear attempt was made to interpret the scene. Sotheby's in 1987 referred to it as 'A Prince receives a Revered Ascetic and his wife in a Palace Courtyard'. However, generally in the depiction of such scenes they are seated face to face, engaged in scholarly conversation on esoteric matters of the spirit and religion. Here there is no eye contact between the prince and the ascetic, if he is one at all, and the entire court seems to be listening intently to what appears to be a heated argument between the man and his wife. The wide variety of facial expressions is unusual.

By 1924, 540 catalogues had been published by Hiersemann and the last catalogue no. 669 was published during the Second World War. It seems likely that catalogue no. 626 must have been published sometime in the 1930s.

The description on the label reads:
From Karl W. Hiersemann-Leipzig, Königsstrasse 29 (King's Street) 585. Indian prince with his Vizier in the foreground. The men and women in the audience beg. An Indian miniature in fine, gold-coated paint. Framed in a golden flower border on a deep blue background (19th century). 18,5:25 cm. On board dappled in red.
Extremely finely executed miniature. In the foreground: Richly decorated/dressed women and men beg. In the background, the young prince is shown in a pensive and thoughtful attitude on his Diwan, a couple is just leaving the audience near him. His Vizier is next to him in a sitting position with his legs crossed.