Portrait of Faruq Shah
Rajasthan, 19th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
8 1/2 x 4 1/8 in. (21.6 x 10.5 cm.)

Provenance:
The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto.
An important collection of Indian Miniature Paintings from a private Toronto estate.

Leaf from a Ragamala: Courting Scene
Rajasthan, Late 18th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
15 3/4 x 10 1/2 in. (40 x 26.8 cm.)

An Illustration from the Bhagavata Purana: Krishna Slaying Arishta
Rajasthan, mid 18th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
Folio: 7 x 10 in. (17.7 x 25.4 cm.)
Image: 3 3/4 x 7 1/2 in. (9.5 x 19 cm.)

Provenance:
2014.02.1: London Art Market, 2014.
Christie’s, New York, 26-27 September 2017, Lot 228.

A broad landscape with sparse yet intricately designed foliage unfolds across the painting, distant cloudlike mountains appear in the background. Five cows stand to the right, vigilant onlookers anxious to witness the outcome of the fight between Krishna and the bull demon Arishta. Balarama stands behind Krishna, garbed primarily in jewelry with weapon raised high, ready to aid should his lord falter.

This scene originates from chapter 36 of book 10 of the Bhagavata Purana. The demon Arishta came to Vrindavana where Krishna was residing and started to wreak havoc to get the god’s attention, uprooting trees and attacking people so that they ran away screaming for Krishna to rescue them. Tending to his cows away from the town, Krishna heard the cries for help and returned to face Arishta. The bull charged Krishna but was thwarted when he was caught by the horns and thrown a far distance. Unperturbed, the bull again charged the god but this time Krishna ripped one of the horns from the demon’s head and impaled him with it, claiming victory. This action is preemptively illustrated in the current example, depicting the moment right before Krishna’s triumph. Arishta kicks his back legs in protest and jerks his head down to escape Krishna’s grasp, but it is clear that the bull cannot best the mighty deity.

Leaf from a Ragamala:
Desvarati Ragini
Rajasthan, Sirohi, 17th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
Folio: 11 1/4 x 8 in. (28.6 x 20.3 cm.)
Image: 9 x 6 in. (22.9 x 15.2 cm.)

An Illustration from the Bhagavata Purana: Krishna Slaying the Bull Demon (Arishtasura)
Rajasthan, mid 18th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
6 x 10 1/8 in. (15 x 25.8 cm.)

Provenance:
London Art Market, 2014.
Christie’s, New York, 26-27 September 2017, Lot 228, From the Collection of Paul Walter.

A broad landscape with sparse yet intricately designed foliage unfolds across the painting, distant cloudlike mountains appear in the background. Five cows stand to the right, vigilant onlookers anxious to witness the outcome of the fight between Krishna and the bull demon Arishtasura. Balarama stands behind Krishna, garbed primarily in jewelry with weapon raised high, ready to aid should his lord falter.

This scene originates from chapter 36 of book 10 of the Bhagavata Purana. The demon Arishtasura came to Vrindavana where Krishna was residing and started to wreak havoc to get the god’s attention, uprooting trees and attacking people so that they ran away screaming for Krishna to rescue them. Tending to his cows away from the town, Krishna heard the cries for help and returned to face Arishtasura. The bull charged Krishna but was thwarted when he was caught by the horns and thrown a far distance. Unperturbed, the bull again charged the god but this time Krishna ripped one of the horns from the demon’s head and impaled him with it, claiming victory. This action is preemptively illustrated in the current example, depicting the moment right before Krishna’s triumph.  Arishtasura kicks his back legs in protest and jerks his head down to escape Krishna’s grasp, but it is clear that the bull cannot best the mighty deity.

Leaf from a Ragamala: Two Ladies in a Courtyard
Rajasthan, late 18th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
15 3/4 x 10 1/2 in. (40 x 26.8 cm.)

Karthikeyi
Rajasthan, 19th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
13 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (34.3 x 24.1 cm.)

Saraswati
Rajasthan, 19th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
13 x 9 1/4 in. (33 x 23.5 cm.)

Coronation of a Maharaja 
Rajasthan, circa 1800
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
Folio: 11 1/4 x 15 1/4 in. (28.5 x 38.7 cm.)
Image: 9 1/4 X 12 1/2 in. (23.5 x 31.7 cm.)

A Leaf from a Ragamala
Rajasthan, Sirohi, 18th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
Folio: 11 1/4 x 8 in. (28.5 x 20.3 cm.)
Image: 8 1/2 x 6 in. (21.6 x 15.2 cm.)

A Leaf from a Ragamala
Rajasthan, Sirohi, 18th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
Folio: 11 x 8 1/4 in. (27.9 x 20.9 cm.)
Image: 9 x 6 in. (22.8 x 15.2 cm.)

Maharaja Prithi Singh
Rajasthan, 18th century
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
9 1/4 x 7 1/2 in. (23.5 x 19 cm.)

Krishna Saves the Unconscious Gopas
Rajasthan, Dated 1693 (Samvat 1750)
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
Folio: 9 5/18 x 11 3/4 in. (23.6 x 29.8 cm.)
Image: 6 7/8 x 9 3/4 in. (17.5 x 24.8 cm.)

Inscribed verso: inked-over inventory seal (c. 1968) of the Library of the Maharaja of Bikaner; Numbered 627; signature of Khet Singh below (inked-over); and black ink Devanagari script

Krishna restores the unconscious gopas (cowherds) to health after they drink the waters of the Yamuna River poisoned by the naga Kaliya.

For another folio from the same series see: Bonhams, London, October 2010, Lot 292. For a Basohli version of the episode: A. Poster, Realms of Heroism Brooklyn Museum, 1994, Cat. 193, p. 239.  Reference: Goetz, H., The Art and Architecture of Bikaner State, Oxford, 1950.

Leaf from a Panch Kalyanaka of Rishabhanatha series:
Prince Shreyans Achieves Jati-smaran Gyan
Rajasthan, Amber, 1720 – 1750
Opaque watercolor on paper
Image: 9 x 15 in. (22.8 x 38.1 cm.)
Folio: 10 ½ x 16 ½ in. (26.6 x 41.9 cm.)

The present image illustrates a Jain text which describes the five auspicious events that occurred in the life of Rishabhanatha, the first Jain tirthankara. Rishabhanatha, with a golden complexion, appears here nude, typical of priests from the Digambara (‘sky-clad’) order. Standing against a flat green background, he is depicted proportionally larger than the worshippers, using hierarchical scale to denote his dignity and importance. The three standing figures are royalty, as indicated by their crowns, yet they hold their hands together in prayer as they stand outside of the palace modestly awaiting an audience with the austere priest. Below them, dressed in white, is Shreyans who bows in awe and reverence upon seeing the monk.

The inscription on either side of the kneeling figure, which reads “Shreyans Jati,” denotes this particular scene as one in which prince Shreyans Kumar (grandson of Bahubali, and great grandson of Rishabhanatha) rushes to meet his great grandfather. Thousands of other citizens also come bearing gifts of gold and jewels, but Rishabhanatha doesn’t even cast a glance at their offerings, as he has completely renounced worldly possessions. Living as a monk, Rishabhanatha wandered under a vow of silence, asking for nothing and only eating when offered. 

When Shreyans bows down at the ascetic’s feet, he looks up at Rishabhanatha and finds that he can no longer shift his gaze. Shreyans then immediately acquires Jati-smaran Gyan, the knowledge that opens up memories of past births, and realizes that the monk had been wandering  for some time without food or water. This moves Shreyans to offer the monk fresh sugar cane juice and beg him to break his fast. Rishabhanatha accepts his request and calls out, “Hail the alms giving.”

This leaf likely follows another from the same set in the Norton Simon Museum, published by Dr. Pal in Painted Poems (Pal 2004., 20-21, cat. 3). In this leaf a party meets the monk at the outskirts of town after welcoming him to stay with them via a vijnapti-patra ( a formal invitation). The party can be seen bearing the aforementioned material offerings, which the monk does not accept. Several other leaves from this Panch Kalyanaka series have appeared in public collections, including two leafs in the San Diego Museum Art (accession nos. 1990.0213 and 1990.0214), and a leaf in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.74.102.4; Pal 1981, 28-29, no.15). Leaves from this series are primarily identified by their prominent orange border with a meandering vine motif.

Folio from a Book of Dreams: The Boar
Rajasthan, Udaipur, circa 1720
Opaque pigments on paper
Folio: 10 x 8 ½ in. (25.5 x 21.6 cm.)

Provenance:
Christie’s London, 12th June 2018, lot 28 Christie’s Amsterdam, 12 October 1993, lot 34.

Exhibited:
Indian Miniature Paintings c.1590–c.1850, Amsterdam, 1 October–30 November 1987, no.23.

Literature:
J. Bautze, Indian Miniature Paintings c.1590–c.1850, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam, 1987, no.23, p.61.

Loss of property, mental anguish,
Death of sons, terrible fear,
Death, sorrow, suffering:
A boar indicates all this.
[Inscribed in Sanskrit]

The present image depicts a lone boar, standing at the river’s edge. Its finely rendered hair and almost human eyes belie a robust figure with dangerously pointed tusks. The strange rust colored sky creates an ominous air–a sense of danger. According to the Sakunavali, the boar, graded neshta, is an ill omen. The rendering of the landscape, with the river’s zigzagging indentation of the foreground, and the differentiated colored background in rust and blue, are conventions of the Sangram Singh period. Compare the treatment of the water’s edge to a folio from the Sat Sai, produced in the same workshop (see A. Topsfeld, “Court Painting at Udaipur Art under the Patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar,” Artibus Asiae Supplementum 44, Zurich, 2002, p. 144, fig. 116).

Folio from a Book of Dreams: Lord Kubera
Rajasthan, Udaipur, circa 1720
Opaque pigments on paper
Folio: 10 x 8 ½ in. (25.5 x 21.6 cm.)

The present painting depicts the god of wealth, Lord Kubera, adorned with jewels and holding a golden gada. He sits upon a magical flying chariot with the head of a hamsa bird, the Pushpaka Vimana. According to the Ramayana, the Kubera was once the king of Lanka, the legendary demon fortress located in the towering peaks of the Trikuta Mountains. His brother Ravana, however, overthrew the great king and took the Pushpaka Vimana for his own. The mythical chariot was eventually returned to Kubera by the hero Rama.

The Sanskrit inscription on the recto on the present folio reads:

Health and pleasure,
A place of gathering for worship,
The benefit of a son’s birth and a life of comfort:
The Lord of Wealth, Kubera, indicates all this.

Another folio from this set, which resides in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, resembles this one closely. The LACMA folio depicts Chandra, the moon god, who rides a flying chariot carried by a stag (Pal, Pratapaditya, The Classical Tradition in Rajput Painting, New York, 1978, cat. 30). Both these folios are likely graded uttamam, which is the most auspicious type of omen; however, because the inscriptions have been rubbed out we cannot be sure.

See alternative imaginings of the Pushpaka Vimana in five folios from a Mewari Ramayana series published in J.P. Losty, The Ramayana: Love and Valor in India’s Great Epic, London, 2008, plates 118-122. Therein the chariot is carried by four hamsa birds rather than the bird and chariot being one and the same.

Inebriated ascetics
Rajasthan, circa 1750–1760
Opaque watercolor on paper
Image: 8 ⅝ x 5 ¾ in. (21.9 x 14.6 cm.)
Folio: 9 ⅞ x 6 ⅞ in. (25.1 x 17.5 cm.)

Caricatures of inebriated ascetics showing the effects of opium and bhang were a popular theme in Indian painting from the 17th through the 19th centuries. These substances were used by holy men to aid them in achieving a state of spiritual ecstasy, especially in the festivals and rituals associated with Shiva. Although such illustrations were also produced by Mughal and Pahari schools, the Rajput representations tend towards ridicule, a feature that can also be seen in Rajasthani caricatures of firangis (foreigners).

The present painting illustrates a chandu-khana, which roughly translates to ‘opium den.’ At the top of the scene two men beneath a tent are preparing bhang, a drink made with marijuana, with a couple of onlookers eager to fill their bowls. Below them a group of men revel in their intoxicated states, some crouching with their eyes closed, others smoking opium from their nargilas. A number of them are depicted shirtless, exaggerating their scrawny and bony appearances. The ascetics are arranged in rough rows against a plain brown background (almost as if a series of figure studies), a compositional model that appears in other paintings of this theme. The resulting lack of perspective informs the Rajput origins of the painting. For another 18th-century depiction of this subject from Rajasthan, see the San Diego Museum of Art (acc. 1990.722). Note the similar style of composition as well as the individualized rendering of each figure.

References:
Crill, R., Marwar Painting: A History of the Jodhpur Style, India Book House, 1999.
Welch, S.C. & Masteller, K., From the Mind, Heart, and Hand: Persian, Turkish, and Indian Drawings from the Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Yale University Press, 2004.