Page 115 - Indian, Himalaya and Asian Art Bonhams Setp 2015

109
A FOLIO FROM THE MEWARI SAKUNAVALI (BOOK OF OMENS)
Mewar, circa 1720

Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper; two lines in Devanagari in
the upper register and numbered ‘33’; depicting a tula (scale) of white
marble and red bowls suspended from chains decorated with gold
foliate designs.
Image: 7 5/8 x 7 in. (19.4 x 17.8 cm);
Folio: 10 1/8 x 8 3/8 in. (25.7 x 21.3 cm)
$8,000 - 12,000

Arthanashmanirvana/ virodhavyadhisambhava/ shokasantayahaanishva/
tularupamvinirdishotu/ 33/ neshta/ gaon 4’ (keemat 9)
“Destruction and negative events possible, grief and danger to offspring,
[all these] a pair of scales indicate/ 33/ an undesirable omen ([in a
different hand] value 9)”

According to Andrew Topsfield, this Sakunavali series was a unique
commission in Udaipur. It consisted of almost a hundred pages, graded
in progressive categories from evil (asubham; e.g. a burgled house or
families of dogs and monkeys) and undesirable (neshta; e.g. a poor
man), to good (subham; e.g. cows in a byre), excellent (srestha; e.g. a
yogi in a hermitage or a king enthroned) and the best of all (uttaram; e.g.
winged gaja-simhas or a pride of lions).

Most subjects of this series are drawn from everyday experiences 109
and rendered with an unaffected directness of experience.
Irrespective of connotations of loss, ill health or bad fortune, bad
omens are realized as sensitively as the good ones. (Court Painting
at Udaipur, Zurich, 2001, p. 144.)

For others from the same series see Bautze, Indian Miniature Painting,
Amsterdam, 1987,no. 23; Goswamy and Smith, Domains of Wonder,
2005, no. 31. Also see Sotheby’s, London, 1966, lot 100. Bonhams,
London, 6 October 2008, lot 391; Christie’s, London, 10 October 2013,
lot 196, and Christie’s, South Kensington, 11 October 2013, lot 507,
and Simon Ray, November 2014, no. 53.

Provenance
Private Collection, Germany

110
A FOLIO FROM THE MEWARI SAKUNAVALI (BOOK OF OMENS)
Mewar, circa 1720

Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper; inscribed in the upper
register in two lines of Devanagari and numbered ‘24’, showing a
black buck walking.
Image: 7 3/4 x 7 in. (19.7 x 17.8 cm)
Folio: 9 7/8 x 8 3/8 in. (25.1 x 21.3 cm)
$8,000 - 12,000

‘Dhanvriddhi sumikshrena/ kshatravastuthevach/
dharmakaamarthlabhanch/ mrig/bhedvinirdishotu/ 24/ shreshtha/
gaon 4’ (keemat 2)
“The attainment of increased wealth, wordly goods and the benefits of
good deeds, [all these] a deer indicates/ 24/ an excellent omen ([in a
different hand] value 2)”

As with many large series produced in the Mewar court of Udaipur 110
in the early 18th century, the attention to detail in the execution of
animals surpassed that of humans. The present page follows this
trend with a delicate portrait of a buck, his head, horns, and coat finely
worked in a naturalistic manner. For further discussion on this series
see the previous lot.

Provenance
Private Collection, Germany

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