Sadiq Muhammad Khan IV, Nawab of Bahawalpur (reg. 1866-99), shooting deer in an enclosure, with beaters on horseback Bahawalpur, Sind, circa 1870-80 gouache and gold on paper 280 x 484 mm. Footnotes: The state of Bahawalpur, now in Pakistan, was founded in the early 18th Century, but it came to prominence in that part of India as a result of its cooperation with the British during their operations in Multan and Afghanistan in the mid-19th Century. After rebellions against the Nawab in the 1860s the British stepped in, and Nawab Sadiq Khan IV (who acceded to the throne at the age of four) was given full powers, along with a council of ministers, under British control. During the Afghan campaigns of the late 1870s great assistance was provided by the state: the Nawabs were accorded a salute of seventeen guns. While hunting scenes are scarcely unusual in Indian painting, depictions of rulers of Bahawalpur are unusual, as is the particular style, with the figures shown with distinctive hair in dark, flowing ringlets, and large, bold, elongated eyes. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com