Beschreibung:

Maharajah Man Singh (reg. 1804-43) visiting the sage Jallandharnath
Jodhpur, circa 1830gouache and gold on paper, red borders (trimmed)
298 x 222 mm.FootnotesProvenance
The Estate of Dr Claus Virch (1927-2012).
Sotheby's New York, Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art, 17th March 2015, lot 1156.
Private US collection.
Maharajah Man Singh was a devotee of the Nath Sampraday. The Nath sect had its beginnings in the 12th-13th Century and became popular to the extent of being the best-known yogis. The sect revered powerful immortal ascetics, known as mashasiddhas (great perfected beings). These figures, covered in ash and wearing large earrings, wandered the earth, encountering mortals and often conferring power and grace on those who revered them. As Debra Diamond observes, 'Man Singh's reign as Jallandharnath's supreme devotee was thus an extreme but not unprecedented spiritual affiliation for a Hindu ruler'.
For Man Singh and the Nath sect, see D. Diamond, C. Glyn, and K. Singh Jasol, Garden and Cosmos: the Royal Paintings of Jodhpur, London 2008, pp. 141-171 in general; and in particular pp. 146-147, no. 32 and pp. 148-149, no. 33, for two portrayals of Jallandharnath worshipped by Man Singh and seated alone.
For a painting of Man Singh with other notables and attendants before Jallandharnath, see the sale in these rooms, Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 6th October 2015, lot 181.