Important Notice

  Lot 12 of 22  

INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTINGS AND WORKS OF ART
24-25 APRIL 2013
Estimate
$6,000 - 8,000
Rs 3,12,000 - 4,16,000


Winning Bid
$6,480
Rs 3,36,960
(Inclusive of Buyer's Premium)

USD payment only. Why?

DETAILS

Sita accompanied by Lakshman approaches Rama

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper

Kishangarh, c. 1780

4 x 8 in (10 x 20 cm)
Devotional Hindu subjects -were popular at the Rajasthani School of Kishangarh, and this miniature depicting Sita escorted by Lakshmana to visit Rama is a good example.

Although Kishangarh, a small state sixty miles northwest of Bundi, was founded early in the seventeenth century, there is little evidence of paintings from there until the eighteenth century when artists painted miniatures of courtly love, with depictions of Radha and Krishna being particularly popular. This theme dates back to the reign of the Kishangarh ruler Savant Singh (1699-1764) who was a devout follower of Krishna and wrote devotional poetry under the name of Nagari Das. In the 1740s Savant Singh fell in love with Bhani Thani, the singer slave-girl who also wrote poetry, and retired with her to Brindaban, on the outskirts of Kishangarh and the childhood home of Krishna. Artists were often commissioned to paint portraits of the ruler and his mistress dressed as Radha and Krishna, a custom that continued after his reign.

For further references see E.Binney, Rajput Miniatures from the Collection of Edwin Binney,3rd., Portland Oregon, 1968, pp.38-43 and S.C. Welch, A Flower from Every Meadow, New York, 1973, no.27.

Sita visits Rama

PROVENANCE: Property of a Gentleman, UK

Category: Antiquty