(attributed to) Humphry, Ozias
Dodda Vira Raja (or, Vira Rajendra Wodeyar), Ruler of Coorg 1780-1809
c. 1787
Category
Place Made
England
Materials
Watercolor on ivory
Measurements
oval: 3 x 2 1/2 in.
Credit Line
The Latter-Schlesinger Collection, Gift of Shirley Latter Kaufmann in memory of Harry and Anna Latter
Location
Lupin Foundation Center for the Decorative Arts
Accession #
74.649
Description
The English miniature artist Ozias Humphry traveled in India from 1785 to 1787, confident that by painting portraits of British expatriates and wealthy Indian princes he would achieve fame and fortune. This venture abroad turned disastrous when many of Humphry’s clients refused to pay their bills, forcing the artist to return to England in financial straits.
In 1772, Humphry severely injured his eye during a riding accident, and by the end of the 1790s he was entirely blind.
This miniature depicts Dodda Vira Raja, ruler of Coorg (Kodagu), a rural district in the southwest Indian state of Karnataka, from 1780 to 1809.