A sale of an unparalleled single-owner collection of Indian miniature paintings at Sotheby’s yesterday fetched a total of £4.6 million ($7.04 million), double its pre-sale expectations.

Estimates for the 157 lots from the Sven Gahlin collection ranged from £500 to £80,000, but many works achieved far in excess of their estimates. 

The London sale was led by a magnificent 17^th-century painting depicting a Mughal prince on horseback, which sold for £329,000 ($503,021), well over the estimate of £60,000-80,000 ($91,736-122,315)

Encompassing the Mughal, Deccani and Rajput courts, as well as Company School Painting from the period of the British Raj, the works offered are remarkable for their distinguished provenance. 

Many of the paintings are signed by or attributed to royal court artists and were commissioned by the elite of the age, providing a glimpse into the refinement, power and privilege of courtly life.

Gahlin is renowned for his connoisseurship and began actively collecting in the 1960s. The majority of this outstanding collection has not been seen on the market for decades. 

Among other top lots:

• An assembly of Hindu gods, ascetics and worshippers, Deccan, Hyderabad or Bidar, early 18thcentury, sold for £203,000 ($307,504).

• A Mughal carved jade dagger hilt in the form of a camel head, 17thcentury, for £199,400 ($302,051).

• The Emperor Bahadur Shah I enthroned, attributed to Bhavanidas, Mughal, circa 1707, for £185,000 ($280,238).

• A dervish of the Qalandari order with a pet sheep, by Mukund, Mughal, circa 1585-1595, for £179,000 ($271,149).

• A panoramic view of Alwar, attributed to Ghulam 'Ali Khan, Delhi, circa 1820, for £149,000 ($225,705).

• A lady with the young Tobias in a landscape, attributable to Keshav Das, circa 1575-80, for £112,500 ($170,415).

• Sultan Mahmud leading a hunting expedition, attributable to Daulat, Mughal, circa 1605, for £102,500 ($155,267).

• Krishna and the gopis bathing in the river Yamuna, illustration from a Harivamsa series, attributable to Purkhu, Kangra, circa 1800-15, for £97,500 ($147,693).

• A standing angel with book and orb, attributed to Abu'l Hasan 'Nadir al-Zaman', Mughal, circa 1610-15, for £90,000 ($136,332).
• A carnation, attributed to Haider Ali and Ibrahim Khan, Deccan, Bijapur, circa 1625-50, for £90,000 ($136,332).

Yesterday’s sale featured as part of Sotheby’s Indian and Islamic Art Week in London which continues today with the Arts of the Islamic World auction.