Page 101 - Bonhams Himalayan, Indian Art march 2015

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An illustration to a Bhagavata Purana series: Krishna, Balrama and
the sages in the forest
Delhi, circa 1520-30
Opaque watercolor on paper; the upper registers with men and women in discourse, the lower
register with Krishna and Balarama attending an agni hotra with wild-haired rishis; three lines of
Sanskrit on recto.
Folio: 6 3/4 x 9 in. (17 x 22.9 cm)
$20,000 - 30,000

This painting comes from the most important pre-Mughal Hindu manuscript: the earliest known
version of an illustrated Bhagavata Purana.

‘Forms and gestures are simple, angular, and clear, and are set against solid color
backgrounds that are chosen for visual, not descriptive, effectiveness...The narrative is all
important, and consequently the scenes have immediate impact; their strongest effect comes
with the first encounter.’
- M.C. Beach, The Imperial Image, Washington, 1981, p. 48.

The painting illustrates Book Ten, Chapter 15, lines 14-15 of the Bhagavata Purana: ‘Krishna
and Balarama, having attained their sixth year, were then engaged in Braja in tending cattle...
sometimes making his playmates laugh, [Krishna] would dance in imitation of the dancing
peacocks...sometimes he would afford comfort to his elder brother fatigued with the toil
of play...that divinity of godly doings...sported in Braja like a country boy with his country
companions.’ - J. M. Sanyal (trans.), The Srimad-Bhagavatam of the ‘Palam’ Bhagavata
Purana series, after M.C. Beach, op. cit., pp. 46-55.

Provenance
Sotheby’s, London, 24 April 1996, lot 17
Private Collection, London
Bonhams, New York, 18 March 2013, lot 68

Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art | 99