Page 114 - Indian, Himalaya and Asian Art Bonhams Setp 2015

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AN ILLUSTRATION TO A RAMAYANA SERIES
Mewar, circa 1710
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; at dusk, the young princes follow their father back to
the palace where he gives instruction and they receive teachings from a sage; a single line
inscription above in devanagari: Bala/ Rama/ 247/ pache rath tatha ghoda hathi utrey pala
chalya/ jaani vase aaya;
Balakanda/ Ramayana/ folio no. 247/ “And then the procession moved on with elephants,
horse-drawn chariots and palanquins/ they had come from the land of Jaana”.
Image: 8 1/4 x 14 3/8 in. (21 x 36.5 cm); Folio: 10 1/2 x 15 3/4 in. (26.7 x 40 cm)
$8,000 - 12,000

Coming from the land of ‘Jaana’, this charming familial scene likely depicts King Dasharatha
returning with his four sons, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughana, from the wedding
ceremony in Mithila where the four boys were married to King Janaka’s daughters and nieces.
The interior scenes, therefore, possibly depict King Dasharatha meeting with King Janaka, and
the young princes receiving blessings from the sage Vishvamitra.

This page comes, in close sequence, from the same chapter and manuscript as another
depicting the four boys and their father meeting Parasurama on their way back from Mithila,
sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 16/17 March 1988, lot 435. Pages from the same series were
also sold at Christie’s, New York, 19 March 2014, lot 1099, and 16 September 2014, lot 311.

Provenance
Private Canadian Collection since 1990s

112 | BONHAMS