Lot 17: GEORGE LANDSEER

GEORGE LANDSEER 1829 - 1878 'REWAH HORSEMEN' Signed and inscribed 'George/ Sketch of Rewah Horse (indecipherable) and inscribed on a label "Rewah Horsemen" on reverse Painted circa 1850-1870. Oil on canvas 57.2 by 44.5 cm. (22½ by 17½ in.)

Private US Collection

Rewah is located in Northeastern Madhya Pradesh and was ruled by the Baghel Rajputs who were descended from the Solankis. In 1498 Sikandar Lodi failed to defeat the Baghels of Bandhogarh. The fort at Bandhogarh was destroyed by Akbar in 1597.

In the Mutiny of 1857 HH Maharaja Raghuraj Singh Bahadur (b. 1831) supported the British in quelling the uprisings in the neighbouring Mandla, Jabalpur and Satna districts. The Maharaja was rewarded by restoration to him of the Sohagpur (Shahdol) and Amarkantak parganas, which had been seized by the Marathas in the beginning of the century. It is possible that the central figure on horseback is that of Raghuraj Singh.