DURBAR OF BHARPUR SINGH, RAJAH OF NABHA (R. 1847-63), ENTHRONED WITH ATTENDANTS AFTER THE UMBALLA DURBAR OF 1860

Nabha or Delhi, circa August 1858, gouache and gold on paper.
46 by 31 cm.

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Germany.

CATALOGUE NOTE
Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Nabha died in 1840 and was succeeded by his son Devinder Singh. In 1845, during the Sikh war, Devinder Singh withheld supplies from the British, and as punishment was deposed in 1846 and died in confinement in 1865. Devinder's son, Bharpur Singh, was installed as the Maharaja in 1847. During his minority, the affairs of state were managed by his grandmother. Bharpur Singh helped the British during the mutiny of 1857 and was rewarded with the grant of the divisions of Baval and Kanti with permission, later on, to purchase a portion of Jhayar territory. Like other Phulkian chiefs, he was granted the right of adoption, the power of life and death over his subjects and the promise of non-interference by the British in the internal affairs of his state. In September 1863, he was nominated a member of the Viceroy's Council but died at Nabha shortly afterwards, childless, in November 1863.