Images(4)

Portrait of Raja Chattar Singh of Chamba

Dateca. 1685

Maker Indian

Maker Pahari, Chamba

Label TextThis is a portrait in the Mughal fashion of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), the sixth guru of the Sikhs, who was trained in the arts of war and the hunt, and who became guru when his father was executed by the Mughal emperor in 1606. He initiated a tradition of "warrior saints" to which Sikhs still adhere with pride. He is depicted in profile, holding a hawk, and dressed as a nobleman. Textual evidence suggests that the painting was produced at Kiratpur in the Punjab foothills during the guru's residence there. It is perhaps the only extant portrait of a Sikh guru drawn from life.

Object number44.44

Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann

Exhibition HistoryUtah, Provo, Brigham Young University, Beauty and Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islam, February 24, 2012 - November, 2013 Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Luminous: The Art of Asia", October 13, 2011 - January 8, 2012 Detroit, Michigan, The Detroit Institute of Arts, "An Exhibition Of Indian Paintings", 1944 Gainesville, Florida, University of Florida, "Miniatures and Small Sculptures From India", 1966, #61 Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles County Museum, "The Art Of Greater India", 1950, #105Published ReferencesMadra, Amandeep Singh and Parmjit Singh. Warrior Saints: Four Centuries of Sikh Military History Vol. 1. London: Kashi House, 2013; p. 8, reproduced fig. 3.

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Dimensions8 1/2 x 5 1/4 in. (21.59 x 13.34 cm) Overall h.: 16 5/8 in. Overall w.: 12 1/2 in.

MediumOpaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper