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Raja Gulab Singh (1792–1857) of Jammu and Kashmir

c. 1830–40

Medium: Gum tempera, gold, and silver on paper
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: Overall: 19.8 x 13.8 cm (7 13/16 x 5 7/16 in.)
Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: Gift of J. H. Wade
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

About this work

Raja Gulab Singh of the Dogra dynasty projects royal power by smoking a hookah carried alongside his horse. His umbrella signifies royalty, and the sword and shield indicate his status as a warrior. In 1846, he founded the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which he succeeded in expanding well into the Himalayas.

Previously, he served as a military commander for the Sikhs, a religious group originating in India’s northwestern Punjab region. Though Hindu, this portrait depicts him without any visible indication of his religious affiliation. After the mid-1800s, fewer Pahari kings commissioned painted portraits, since most preferred the new medium of photography.