A young prince in fine clothing, holding a sword. A cdv of around the 1870s

An unidentified carte de visite sized portrait of a young aristocrat or prince pasted to an old playing card. There is no photographer’s credit and there is a little loss at the top right corner. The portrait, although a little faded, is very clear and shows the youth seated, wearing fine clothing and holding a sword of Tulwar style. The full sized sword greatly emphasises the small stature of the sitter. That feature is so reminiscent of portraits of the young Sayaji Rao who was to rule Baroda from 1875 to 1939 taken around 1877 that one wonders whether this could be the same person a few years earlier.    jan1/1