Twelve watercolour studies of flowering plants, by Thakur Ganga Singh (1895-1971), court painter to Yadhavindra Singh, Maharajah of Patiala (reg. 1938-47)
Patiala, 1940-50watercolours on paper, mounted and framed
375 x 290 mm.; 190 x 285 mm.(12)注脚Provenance
Sotheby's, Mallett at Bourdon House, 9th March 2007, lot 814A.

According to Mallett's original labels on the backboards of some of the paintings, the subjects of four of the paintings are as follows: Atylosia Crassa Prain; Euphorbia Royleana Boiss; Levcas Lauata Benth.; and Begonia Amoena Wall.

This group of paintings form part of a collection of botanical watercolours originally in the collection of the Maharajah of Patiala, made by Thakur Ganga Singh between 1942-1962. These drawings are in a free style but nonetheless continue the tradition of combining decoration with botanical accuracy. The studies were commissioned by Maharajah Yadhavindra Singh of Patiala, also a keen botanist, who from the 1920s began to collect the flora of the Simla Hills with the intention of writing a book on the subject. Ganga Singh was engaged by the Maharajah in 1942 to reproduce his collected flora in watercolour drawings. He became a permanent member of His Highness' staff and painted over four hundred watercolours over a period of twenty years. Singh died in 1971, followed in 1972 by the Maharajah who was not able to complete his book although the research and the paintings were complete. Ganga Singh began his career as an artist at the Forest Research Institute in Dehra Dun, travelling to England in 1931 to train at the Slade in London. Later in life he was awarded the title of 'Rai Sahib' for his contributions in the field of fine arts.