Ghulam Ali Khan was a premier nineteenth-century court painter based in Shahjahanabad (Delhi) whose prolific career spanned from 1817 to 1852, earning him recognition as the last royal master of the Mughal dynasty who successfully adapted to the "Company style" for British patrons like William Fraser and Colonel James Skinner. The given artwork was completed by Ghulam Ali Khan in 1827. It’s a monumental Gouache based painting on European paper depicting Colonel James Skinner CB presiding over a regimental durbar (council) for the 1st Regiment of Local Horse, a deliberate revival of Mughal and Afghan military traditions where soldiers could freely voice grievances to their commander. Skinner, an Anglo-Indian military officer born to a Scottish father and a Rajput mother, is positioned above eye level alongside his son and adjutant, James. To compose this highly detailed scene, Khan spent years painting individual study portraits of the retainers and cavalrymen before combining them into a singular courtly setting. The cavalry officers (rissaldars), dressed in resplendent yellow winter uniforms, evoke the formality of a Mughal court, with the most senior officer, Muhammad Shadull Khan—who previously saved the younger Skinner’s life—seated closest to the commander. Contemporary observers highly praised these men as the boldest and most trusted soldiers in India. The painting also illustrates the intake of a new recruit under the silladar system, where soldiers supplied their own equipment, showing a horse being measured and inspected. A defining feature making this artwork exceptional is that nearly every figure is identified by a gold Nastaliq inscription giving their name and rank, which allows for the identification of figures like Duffadar Ganga Sankar, the only Hindu soldier present, who is depicted wearing a bead necklace and a religious tilak mark on his forehead.
Ghulam Ali Khan's masterpiece, 'Colonel James Skinner holding a Regimental Durbar,' represents the unique cultural synthesis of the British Raj and Mughal courtly tradition. By depicting Colonel Skinner's diverse regimental durbar, it conveys a powerful message of mutual respect, military brotherhood, and the harmonious blending of disparate worlds.
