Raja Ajab Dev

ca. 1800

Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, portrait of Ajab Dev of Jasrota and an attendant on a terrace. The raja, wearing a white jama tied with a white and gold patka (sash) and a turban, sits on a pale yellow carpet edged with green and decorated with orange and green floral scroll. He is supported by a pink, leaf-patterned bolster and a cushion of the same material in the foreground. His left hand rests on his sash due to the brown leather strap which he wears slung across his right shoulder, while his right hand contains a gold object. Nearby, a grey falcon is perched on the balustrade; it wears a gold chain and is attached to a brown and gold gauntlet by a pinkish rope which coils under the raja's knees and out again to that part of the foreground where the glove is placed. Part of the blue sheath of a talwar is visible, protruding from the area between the raja and the bolster. Another carpet may be seen beneath the yellow one - a red carpet with interlacing scroll. To the left of the picture behind the raja, stands an attendant with fan, wearing a brown jama tied with a pinkish sash. The white stonework of the terrace is visible in the extreme foreground. The green-lined background stretches from the terrace to merge with a streaked blue, white and orange sky.