MEWAR, RAJASTHAN, CIRCA 1880

Details

MAHARANA SAJJAN SINGH (R. 1874-1884) ON AN ELEPHANT IN HIS GARDEN
MEWAR, RAJASTHAN, CIRCA 1880
An illustrated folio from a shadritu or 'six seasons' series, opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the haloed ruler on a beautifully caparisoned elephant striding through neatly arranged flower beds, retainers and female courtiers in the foreground, in thin gold margins within blue and red rules, the borders with gold tendrils on ochre ground, the reverse with 17ll. of black devanagri script with important words highlighted in red and gold, within narrow gold borders
Painting 9 5/8 x 7 3/8in. (24.5 x 18.8cm.); folio 12 7/8 x 10 5/8in. (32.7 x 27.1cm.)

Literature

L. Habighorst, Blumen – Bäume – Göttergärten, Koblenz, 2011, p.20, fig.5.

Exhibited

Blumen, Bäume, Göttergärten - Indische Malerei aus sechs Jahrhunderten, Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg, 15 March - 27 October 2013
Gärten der Welt, Museum Rietberg, Zürich, 13 May - 8 October 2016

Brought to you by

Louise Broadhurst

lbroadhurst@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2603

Lot Essay

This painting comes from an illustrated manuscript of the ‘Six Seasons’ (shadritu) and is related to Vasant or the season of spring. The reverse of the painting is inscribed with verses of poetry including a description of Vasant in the Braja Bhasha dialect. The manuscript was made for Maharana Sajjan Singh of Udaipur and the paintings depict the Maharana engaged in different activities according to the different seasons. The shadritu is related to the more well-known baramasa (twelve months) series of paintings. The shadritu illustrates the change in seasons and the joys that this brings whereas the baramasa focuses on the emotional relationship of two lovers through the cycle of the seasons. Three further pages from this same series were recently with P. Bubbar, 2012, nos.13-15, pp.48-59.

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