Dhal - Bouclier du Mewar Lot n° 53

A royal court Mewar shield, India, Rajasthan, Udaipur, early 19th century Circular, convex shield in prepared buffalo hide, painted gold on a black ground, decorated with four concentric registers featuring a central sun with a royal face (Surya, emblem of the Mewar state) surrounded by four metal bosses in the form of reclining lions. The large central band features a large female and male procession passing to the right. The last band is embellished with an animal frieze. The reverse is decorated with a handle. Condition: very good, pierced. D. 57 cm This remarkable example of a Dhal is painted with details executed by a particularly refined hand. Its exceptional character is measured by the rarity of comparable pieces: it is very similar to an example presented by Runjeet Singh, and can be compared with a shield from the National Museum in New Delhi, and another presented at Sothebys, March 19, 2008, no. 328. The central band is painted with a striking and unusual procession led by a Maharana enthroned on a palanquin (howdah). Mostly composed of women from the court, the painter has taken a clear interest in the female figures, in an airy composition, while the men march in superimposed rows. The finesse of the drawings suggests that this piece was commissioned from a royal workshop, by a wealthy patron, to be worn as a symbol of belonging at court events. Provenance: Former German private collection, before 1970 Comparable works: - Runjeet Singh, ref. 456, for a very similar example, most probably from the same workshop, differing slightly in the bosses; - National Museum, New Delhi, published in Dr. G. N. Pant, Indian Arms and Armour, Volume II, India, 1980, front cover; - Sotheby's, New York, March 19 2008, n°328.