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

- Date: 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
- Credit line: Gift of J. H. Wade
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1925.1338)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/1925.1338/1925.1338_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

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.