Important Notice

GARHWAL, CIRCA 1780
Gouache on paper heightened with gold
Image: 6.5 x 4 in (16.5 x 10.1 cm)
Folio: 7.25 x 4.75 in (18.4 x 12 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
The Tandan Collection

A nayika dressed in orange stands against a vast green field, before a tree in full blossom. This striking subject is an embodiment of the "Garhwal school's conception of womanly beauty." (Lal, Garhwal Painting, p. 24) A note made on verso suggests that the miniature illustrates the dahada theme, in which the tree has blossomed by the mere touch of the beautiful nayika.

The "Garhwal school excels other Pahari schools in the treatment of women. Here they stand out more slender and charming; there is more detail in the depiction of their ornaments; their drapery is often transparent and attractive." (Lal, Garhwal Painting, p. 23) The painting is made in the style of Mola Ram (1743-1833), an artist who painted in the Mughal style until he visited Kangra, and adopted some of its elements to develop a distinct Garhwal school of painting. With him, the Mughal practice of painting flowers, typically as sprays of pink or white blossoms, flourished and developed into a separate branch of painting. The pinkish flowers of the mandar were, "a favourite motif of Mola Ram and the Garhwal school as a whole." (Lal, Garhwal Painting, p. 23)

GARHWAL, CIRCA 1780
Gouache on paper heightened with gold
Image: 6.5 x 4 in (16.5 x 10.1 cm)
Folio: 7.25 x 4.75 in (18.4 x 12 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
The Tandan Collection

A nayika dressed in orange stands against a vast green field, before a tree in full blossom. This striking subject is an embodiment of the "Garhwal school's conception of womanly beauty." (Lal, Garhwal Painting, p. 24) A note made on verso suggests that the miniature illustrates the dahada theme, in which the tree has blossomed by the mere touch of the beautiful nayika.

The "Garhwal school excels other Pahari schools in the treatment of women. Here they stand out more slender and charming; there is more detail in the depiction of their ornaments; their drapery is often transparent and attractive." (Lal, Garhwal Painting, p. 23) The painting is made in the style of Mola Ram (1743-1833), an artist who painted in the Mughal style until he visited Kangra, and adopted some of its elements to develop a distinct Garhwal school of painting. With him, the Mughal practice of painting flowers, typically as sprays of pink or white blossoms, flourished and developed into a separate branch of painting. The pinkish flowers of the mandar were, "a favourite motif of Mola Ram and the Garhwal school as a whole." (Lal, Garhwal Painting, p. 23)