Guru Gobind Singh seated with a falcon Chitra Shala Steam...

Guru Gobind Singh seated with a falcon
Chitra Shala Steam Press, Poona, circa 1900
oleograph on paper laid down on card, caption in gurmukhi script, inscribed Chitra Shala Steam Press Poona lower centre
473 x 350 mm.
The gurmukhi caption reads: vah vah gobind singh ape gur-chela, 'Wondrous, wondrous is Gobind Singh, he himself is the Guru and the disciple'. The title refers to the famous event of 1699, when the Guru established the Khalsa order by first initiating five of his most loyal Sikhs who then initiated him.

Founded in 1878, the Chitrashala Steam Press had its first commercial success with a print of Rama and Sita, selling two thousand copies in a month. Their prints depicted famous figures from history (particularly that of the Marathas) and Hindu mythology (see C. Pinney, 'Photos of the Gods': The Printed Image and Political Struggle in India, 2004, p. 48). For other examples of prints from the press, see the sale in these rooms, Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 5th November 2014, lot 407.