An armoured queen taming a tiger
by Kotah court artist
circa 1830 CE
Gouache on paper
19.3 x 14.6 in. (49 x 37.1 cm.)
An imaginary portrait of a lady (possibly a queen of Kotah) is expressively done in a late Kotah style (with mixed elements from late Devgarh animal renderings).
The armoured lady adorns a camouflaging lion shaped headgear as she executes the challenging task of taming the tiger. She holds the chain of leashed tiger who is anguishly roaring.
Tiger in the composition is rendered with bold and defining lines and was possibly done by a master practising in a late Kotah idiom and who must have seen the Devgarh life size tiger depictions.