An Illustration from Chandra Raja No Raas

India, Rajasthan, circa 1800

Details

An Illustration from Chandra Raja No Raas
India, Rajasthan, circa 1800
Opaque watercolor on paper
6 ¾ x 10 5/8 in. (17 x 27 cm.)

Provenance

Acquired by the 1970s, by repute.
Accessioned by the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, 2010 (TL2010.38.32).

Sale room notice

Please note the Provenance should read "New York market, 1970s, by repute", and not 1990's, as stated in the catalogue. The remaining provenance is correct.

Lot Essay

This painting depicts a scene from a famous Jain epic, Chandra Raja No Raas or The Bird in a Cage, written in the eighteenth century possibly by Mohanavijayajī Mahārāja. In this narrative, which centers on King Chandra and his two wives, the king is turned into a rooster as punishment for having imprisoned a beautiful bird in a cage, imparting a moral lesson about karma and its bitter repercussions.

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