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Lot Essay
The reverse is inscribed with a couplet from the Rasikapriya of Keshav Das. “I don’t know what you will do in the future. Already you have caused such pain by not doing your beloved’s bidding. Out of modesty you avoided expression of your affection and thus caused injury to love. You did not hold him in your arms, nor did you amuse him with the novelty of your speech, nor indeed did you gaze at him as if filling your eyes with his appearance. Why have you turned your mind away from him?” (Randhawa, 1962, p.91.)
Keshav Das, a Brahmin in Bundelkhand, was the court poet of Raja Madhukar Shah of Orchha. He wrote his famous love poem Rasikapriya in 1591 AD. The Rasikapriya seems to have been a favourite with Kangra patrons. Several nayaka - nayika paintings from Kangra depicting Krishna and Radha, the ideal lovers, are based on and inscribed with the texts of the Rasikapriya. The style of painting and the colours employed by Kangra artists for these depictions of love and longing manage to convincingly convey the richness and sweetness inherent in the lyrical texts of Keshav Das. (Randhawa, ibid., pp.27-28).
There are fourteen comparable paintings from a Rasikapriya series in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum. (Archer, 1973, Vol. I (text), no.66 (i-xiv), pp.305-307; Vol. II (plates), pp.228-230). Other illustrations from this series have sold recently in these rooms, 25 May 2017, lots 74-78. For other illustrations in the sale, see lots 93-95.
Keshav Das, a Brahmin in Bundelkhand, was the court poet of Raja Madhukar Shah of Orchha. He wrote his famous love poem Rasikapriya in 1591 AD. The Rasikapriya seems to have been a favourite with Kangra patrons. Several nayaka - nayika paintings from Kangra depicting Krishna and Radha, the ideal lovers, are based on and inscribed with the texts of the Rasikapriya. The style of painting and the colours employed by Kangra artists for these depictions of love and longing manage to convincingly convey the richness and sweetness inherent in the lyrical texts of Keshav Das. (Randhawa, ibid., pp.27-28).
There are fourteen comparable paintings from a Rasikapriya series in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum. (Archer, 1973, Vol. I (text), no.66 (i-xiv), pp.305-307; Vol. II (plates), pp.228-230). Other illustrations from this series have sold recently in these rooms, 25 May 2017, lots 74-78. For other illustrations in the sale, see lots 93-95.