Bishan Singh (1836-1900) attributed, Worshippers at a shrine, probably Amritsar, North India,...

Bishan Singh (1836-1900) attributed, Worshippers at a shrine, probably Amritsar, North India, circa 1880, gouache on paper heightened with gold, 35 x 22cm.

Provenance: Private European Collection; Pierre Berge encheres, 13 May, 2009 Lot 34

This painting bears many of the hallmarks of Bishan Singhs work. The portrait of each figure is carefully executed and the pietra dura decoration on the architecture framing the scene is shown in typically meticulous detail. The colour palette typical of his work includes vivid green, yellow and blue. The trees are very similar to those which appear in the background of his durbar scenes.

Bishan Singh, also known as Baba Bishan Singh, came from a family of artists operating in Lahore and Amritsar in the second half of the 19th century. The family were responsible for painting and maintaining the murals and motifs on the walls of the Sikh holiest shrine, the Golden Temple, and it is there that Bishan, along with his brother Kishan Singh, learnt his trade. Whilst a keen painter of scenes of daily life in the Punjab, Bishan Singh became particularly famous for his detailed depictions of the Court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839).

The number of works by Bishan Singh which have appeared on the market is relatively small but shows an increasing interest in this artist. On April 15, 2016, Rosebery's sold a large painting by Bishan Singh which fetched over £100,000. Earlier this year, Christie's sold two large scenes of comparative size, Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Durbar and the Amritsar Municipal Committee on 31 March 2022 (Lots 97-98) each for over £400,000. The year prior in March 31 2021, Sotheby's sold a further durbar scene for over £300,000, and another durbar scene at the court of Ranjit Singh, which dates to 1864, was sold at Christie's, 7 October 2008, lot 245 (now in the Toor Collection see Davinder Toor, In Pursuit of Empire Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, London, 2018, pp.90-95.). A scene of swimmers and tradespeople on the river overlooking the Temple of Amritsar was sold at Hotel Drouot, Paris 17 June 2021, Lot 7 and a scene of women in a carriage in the same sale Lot 6.

Further paintings by Bishan Singh in private collections include a scene depicting Maharaja Sher Singh (r.1841-42) watching a nautch performance formerly in the Edwin Binney 3rd Collection, now in the San Diego Museum of Art (acc.no.1990.1348). Another similar painting of Dost Muhammad being received by Sher Singh in Lahore on his way to regain the throne of Kabul is in the Kapany Collection. The Musee Guimet in Paris holds a painting of a weaver's atelier (MA12702).