This was one of eight portraits painted by Rudolph Swoboda of participants in the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in South Kensington, London, in 1886. Muhammad Hussain was a coppersmith, in his twenties at the time of his sitting for Swoboda, from Delhi, India.  Hussain would probably have been seen by members of the royal family at the exhibition, as the prince of Wales was president of its Royal Commission.

Rudolf Swoboda was born in Vienna in 1859 and studied under his uncle Leopold Carl Müller between 1878 and 1884. Between 1885 and 1892 Swoboda worked for Queen Victoria. On the 7 October 1886 he travelled to India, passing through Afghanistan and Kashmir on route, to undertake a commission from the sovereign. Queen Victoria paid for his passage and gave him £300 to cover his travelling expenses. In return he was to provide the Queen with sketches worth £300. The Queen gave Swoboda specific instructions: 'The Sketches Her Majesty wishes to have – are of the various types of the different nationalities. They should consist of heads of the same size as those already done for The Queen, and also small full lengths, as well as sketches of landscapes, buildings, and other scenes.’

Swoboda was first introduced to Queen Victoria in 1885 by the respected court artist Heinrich von Angeli: ‘Saw a young Austrian Artist recommended by Angeli’ she recorded in her Journal on 22 April 1886. ‘He is only twenty-six, of the name of Swoboda, & is full of talent.’ And in the spring of that year the artist received one of his first commissions from the Queen - he was to paint eight portrait heads of ‘native artisans’ attending the Colonial and Indian exhibition in London – a six-month display of colonial culture and commerce, and a demonstration of British imperial power that coincided with Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. The sitters formed part of the ‘living displays’ of artisans demonstrating ‘traditional’ crafts such as weaving, pottery and carving and included five Indians; a Cypriot weaver, Rhodothea Petrou; the Malay dressmaker, Georgina Manan; and John Kabua Silos, a ploughman and diamond washer from South Africa (RCINs 403822, 403823, 403824, 403826, 403828, 403752, RCIN 403751, 403790).Signed: Rudolph Swoboda.

Signed lower right: Rudolf Swoboda

Like all Royal Collection records, this object is subject to ongoing research. Royal Collection Trust welcomes further information relating to the identity of the person depicted in this portrait.