Important Notice

One of K G Subramanyan's annual projects involved creating toy-like sculptures, often depicting animals from a mock fable, as seen in the present lot. For the versatile artist, who was interested in the craft techniques and styles of India, these works usually coincided with the Baroda Fine Arts Fair, where such traditions were encouraged and explored.

Subramanyan's meticulous process involved a series of steps, beginning with... One of K G Subramanyan's annual projects involved creating toy-like sculptures, often depicting animals from a mock fable, as seen in the present lot. For the versatile artist, who was interested in the craft techniques and styles of India, these works usually coincided with the Baroda Fine Arts Fair, where such traditions were encouraged and explored.

Subramanyan's meticulous process involved a series of steps, beginning with plasticine or clay versions created from preliminary drawings, followed by a prototype made of wood. The wood sculpture would then be planed, joined, layered and adorned with various materials including leather, jute or mirrors. The toys, both objects of play as well as signifiers, "...recall the icon which in turn will recall ancient craft traditions, for the act of making must predate the iconography, the ritual or fun, to which the objects have contributed over centuries. Thus making his toys both conspicuously pristine, and mockingly funny Subramanyan activates his own manifold connections to artisanal practice." (Geeta Kapur, K G Subramanyan, New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi, 1987, p. 7)

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