Painting

A young man sits on a gold chair facing a youth, who holds out his hands deferentially before him. Both wear turban jewels, the insignia of royalty introduced by the Mughal emperors but, by the 19th century, also often worn by senior members of regional courts. Their turbans are typical of paintings of Sikhs at the court of Ranjit Singh (1780–1839), the first Sikh maharaja of the Panjab. It is possible that the seated youth is Hira Singh, who was close to the maharaja and had been honoured with the title of raja by him in 1816. The young men’s cut hair indicates that they are not Sikhs; Hira Singh was a member of the Hindu Dogra family, which was highly influential at Ranjit Singh’s court. The fact that the young man sits on a chair indicates a certain status.