Portrait of a Hill Raja, Probably Maharaja Hamir Chand of Kangra

The plainly dressed, aging prince is seated on a striped, flat weave rug (dhurri). He rests his infirm knees on two pink pillows. Consistent with the simple, horizontal composition that governs the iconography of most “state” portraits (see also cat. no. 43), the raja is seated facing a young man holding a handkerchief and his royal swordbag. He is also seated in front of another young man, likewise dressed in white, holding the royal fly whisk or chauri. One end of the attendant’s hand­held fly whisk and most of the other attendant’s sword bag extend into the border, electricflying this otherwise rather static composition. The prince sits before a vivid orange backdrop, the color nicely judged to harmonize with the powder blue border that surrounds him.
A tinted drawing in the Chandigarh Museum (on transfer from the Central Museum, Lahore) depicts the same man. (1) He is portrayed in profile at about the same age, having the same hooked nose and greying beard. The powerful Chandigarh drawing is inscribed in devanagari characters: “sri maharaja sri hambir chand katoch” (2), thus providing an identification for the present portrait. (Katoch is the clan name of the Kangra rulers.) Maharaja Hamir Chand (r. 1700­1747) of Kangra appears to have done very little during his long reign; perhaps he was preoccupied with family matters. A youthful portrait of him was formerly in the Archer collection. (3)
The princes of India had large collections of portraits of rulers from neighboring or paramount states. They often commissioned depictions of their forebears and would also commission or purchase depictions of the rulers of neighboring or paramount states. This genealogical taste helps to explain the large number of royal portraits that have survived from the 16th­19th century.
(1) I am grateful to Vijay Sharma for providing a picture of this drawing, and suggesting the identification.
(2) Archer 1973, Vol. I, pg. 248
(3) Ibid

Inscription: Formerly inscribed on the front along the top border (now missing) in white paint and black ink written in takri script; the reverse not inscribed

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Divine Pleasures: Painting from India's Rajput Courts—The Kronos Collections," June 13–September 11, 2016.