Yet another portrait of a Parsi lady (pictured, Photo: Anil Relia) reportedly by noted painter Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) has emerged. Ahmedabad based gallerist and private collector Anil Relia mentioned on his social media account on April 29, 2023, the
175th birth anniversary of the painter: "Recently I acquired one darkened and damaged portrait from a scrap dealer. A team of conservators from Bombay stayed for more than a month at my place and restored (it). The final outcome is Parsee Lady with Ravi Varma’s signature dated 1.9.1891… After that it took six more months to find out her family details. Now she is part of my portrait collection” and hangs in his home. Relia told Parsiana on May 18, "I bought it from a scrap dealer who had no idea how precious this work of art is.” While the identity of the sitter is not known, Relia surmises that she may be a member of the Mehta family of Navsari.
Previously, another Parsee Lady, believed to be the painter’s last unfinished work, was unveiled at Trivandrum, also on April 29 (see "Unfinished Parsee Lady,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, May 21-June 6, 2023).
Relia’s collection of art works includes a treasure trove of portraits. Over 100 of his Parsi-themed portraits, paintings, photographs, prints and collectibles were on display in Ahmedabad in December 2018 (see "Parsi portrayals,” Parsiana, January 7-20, 2019). Relia has published a pocket sized, 160-page booklet of around 150 Parsi-themed items from his collection.