An antique enamel, ruby and diamond gold hunting case minute repeating pocket watch, Seeland, circa 1890
Lot 4. An antique enamel portrait depicting His Highness Sawai Mahendra Sir Pratap Singh Bahadur, ruby and diamond gold hunting case minute repeating pocket watch, Seeland, circa 1890. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 32,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019
Champlevé enamel portrait depicting His Highness Sawai Mahendra Sir Pratap Singh Bahadur, enameled monogram on the reverse, set with rose-cut diamonds and oval-cut rubies, white enamel dial, 18k gold (Swiss marks), 2 7/8 ins., circa 1890, signed Seeland, portrait signed J. Graff, case no. 39874, movement no. 370020.
Provenance: Sotheby's, Geneva, 15 May 2011, lot 109.
Note: John Graff (1836-1906) was a talented Swiss enamel portraitist who was popular during the later part of the 19th century. His clients were typically important European families, however, J. Graff was also commissioned to create portraits for the Indian market.
Depicted here, His Highness Pratap Singh was a career British Indian Army Officer and the Maharaja of Idar. From 1878 to 1911 he served as Administrator and Regent under four Maharajas of Jodhpur. While serving the Maharajas of Idar he developed a close relationship with the British Royal family and became Edward VII’s aide-de-camp from 1887 to 1910. Pratap abdicated the gadi in 1911 and built an illustrious military career serving in the British Indian Army. His service in the Second Afghan War, the Tirah Campaign, the Boxer Rebellion, and the First World War earned him many honors including the Order of the Star of India, the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal, the Order of Bath, the Order of the Nile, the Legion d’Honneur, and the Order of the Star of Romania. After thirty-eight years of military service, he returned as to the role of Regent of Jodhpur until his death in 1922.
Christie's. Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence, New York, 19 June 2019