Akhairaj, a minor noble in the state of Jodhpur (Marwar), is sitting on an English-style chair in an unidentified garden, listening to musicians and enjoying flowers. Below, a servant gathers fruit, and a sadhu sits by a fire in a corner of the garden, near a well. Red border.
Marks:
Verso: Five and a half lines of writing at the top. Below is a circular stamp in purple ink: around the edge: KUMAR SANGRAM SINGH x OF NAWAL GARH x. In the middle: Painting No. Below the stamp: S Singh [written in blue ink]; 35 [written in pencil and circled]; Title: Raja Akahi Raj [stamped and written in blue ink]; School: Jodhpur [stamped and written in blue ink]; Artist: x [stamped and written in blue ink].
Inscriptions:
1. (From the Seller's Invoice, September 1999) Five line inscription in nagari characters on reverse.
2. (Milo C. Beach, 6 December 1999) Akhairaj and other courtiers are identified by an inscription on the reverse. (Details to follow after translation of inscription.)
Provenance:
From at least 1967
Kumar Sangram Singh of Nawalgarh, Jaipur, from at least 1967 [1]
Stuart Cary Welch, Cambridge, Massachusetts and Warner, New Hampshire [2]
To 1999
Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd., New York to 1999
From 1999
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd. in 1999
Notes:
[1] In 1967, the object was seen and photographed by Milo C. Beach in the collection of Kumar Sangram Singh; his seal is on the reverse (according to Curatorial Note 4, Milo C. Beach, December 6, 1999, in the object record).
[2] The object was acquired soon after 1967 by S.C. Welch, and sold through Colnaghi's (according to Curatorial Note 4, Milo C. Beach, December 6, 1999, in the object record).
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
East of Eden: Gardens in Asian Art (February 24 to May 13, 2007)
Previous custodian or owner:
Kumar Sangram Singh (Thakur of Nawalgarh)
Stuart Cary Welch (1928-2008)
Terence McInerney Fine Arts, Ltd. (active 1990-2013)
