Shankar Singh Taluqdar of Dhangadh seated in an interior, by P. N. Varma and studio
Allahabad, circa 1880
oil on canvas, signed P N Varma & Co/Allahabad lower right
132.5 x 104 cm.
Footnotes:
Shankar Singh is portrayed seated against a green bolster with a tall silver huqqa to the side, wearing a gleaming gold embroidered dusty rose silk chogha and a soft pink undershirt, his orange turban fronted with a large diamond sarpech and he also wears a long rudraksha malla with gold spacers.

Shankar Singh was a taluqdar of Dhangadh one of the principalities of Awadh or Lucknow. Taluqdars were aristocrats who formed the ruling class across North India towards the end of Mughal rule and during the period of direct British rule. For a black and white photograph of Shankar Singh, see the comprehensive study by Darogah Haji Abbas Ali, An illustrated historical album of the Rajas and Taaluqdars of Oudh, Allahabad, 1880, p. 24, no. 101.

The subtle placement of curtain and green wall in the background and a yellow carpet with bold floral designs below provide a striking contrast with the sitter's imposing figure. P. N. Varma's studio was part of a burgeoning industry at the end of the 19th century that blended photography with traditional portrait painting and ultimately usurped the court painting tradition. Multiple records of the studio backdrops created by Varma of Johnsonsgunj, Allahabad, circa 1880 appeared with Bid and Hammer, Bangalore, 17 August 2010, lots 225-227.
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