Commissioned for Victoria

A portrait of 14-year-old Sirinbai Ardeshir, from Neemuch, painted by Rudolf Swoboda (1859-1914) hangs in the Durbar Corridor of Osborne House, a former summer retreat of Queen Victoria on the Isle of Wright. Executed between 1886 and 1888, the 26.1 x 15 x 0.5 cm rendition in oil on wood is one of over 40 portraits from South Asia painted at the request of the Queen.

The Vienna-born Swoboda had worked for the British monarch between 1885 and 1892. He travelled to India "passing through Afghanistan and Kashmir en route,” to undertake a commission from the sovereign in 1886. The Queen had "paid for his passage and gave him £300 to cover his travelling expenses,” notes the website of the Royal Collection Trust. Victoria had given the painter specific instructions, details the website. "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...” When the monarch received them, "she was very pleased and thought them ‘such lovely heads… beautiful things.’”
Further details about Ardeshir are not available on the Royal Collection Trust’s website. Parsiana’s attempts to enquire with the handful of Parsi residents in Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh about her provenance and about her descendants, if any, bore no fruit. If any reader knows about the sitter for this portrait, please do write in.
The Royal Collection Trust is a UK charitable body established in 1993 by Queen Elizabeth II under the chairmanship of Prince Charles to manage the art collections of various British sovereigns, according to Wikipedia.