Page 102 - Bonhams Himalayan, Indian Art march 2015
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Krishna as the Butter Thief An illustration FROM a Bhagavata Purana series:
Sirohi school, circa 1780 Krishna battles Kaliya and swallows the fire
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; while Yashoda is distracted Malwa, circa 1680-90
inside, mischievous Krishna steals butter from the pot. Opaque watercolor on paper; the vignettes showing Krishna comforting
Folio: 9 1/8 x 10 3/8 in. (23.2 x 26.4 cm) the villages after saving them from Kaliya; verso with two lines of Braj text.
$2,000 - 3,000 Image: 8 1/8 X 13 1/4 in. (20.6 x 33.7 cm); Folio 9 1/8 x 14 1/4 in.
(23.2 x 36.2 cm)
In discussion of another page in the Polsky collection, Topsfield notes: $4,000 - 6,000
‘Characteristic of the Sirohi School, the faces of the figures are rather
large, with prominent noses [...] The picture is provided with a wide ‘The total disregard for time and space, and the bold, even capricious
floral border that adds a decorative touch.’ (Topsfield, ed., In the portrayal of a variety of incidents makes this Malwa Bhagavata Purana
Realm of Gods and Kings, New York, 2004, p. 28) a remarkable manuscript’ - Dehjia, p. 211.
Provenance A page from the same series depicting Krishna killing Aghasura is
Cynthia Hazen Polsky Collection held in The Walters Art Museum and published in Cummins, Vishnu,
Acquired from Hamsa Gallery, New York, 14 December 1976 Brooklyn, 2011, p. 188, no. 100. For other pages see Dye, Arts of
India, 2001, p. 320, no. 133; Poster, Realms of Heroism, Brooklyn,
67 1994, p. 206, nos 159 & 160; and Archer & Binney, Rajput Paintings,
A double-sided folio from a Devimahatmya series Boston, 1968, p. 58, no. 42. One page from this series also sold at
Sirohi, 1675-1700 Sotheby’s, New York, 14 November 2002, lot 5.
Opaque watercolor and ink on paper; both sides with 11 lines of text
and scenes of Devi subduing demons. Published
Images: 4 5/8 x 4 in. (11.6 x 10 cm); Folio: 4 3/4 x 10 5/8 in. Vidya Dehejia, American Collectors of Asian Art, Bombay, 1986, p.
(12 x 27 cm) 213, no. 7.
$1,000 - 1,500 Provenance
Kapoor Gallery, 1984
For another folio from this series see Pal, The Classical Tradition in Paul F. Walter Collection
Rajput Painting, New York, 1978, p. XX, no. XX. Sotheby’s, New York, 14 November 2002, lot 6
Private Collection, Canada
Provenance
Cynthia Hazen Polsky Collection 69
Acquired from Hamsa Gallery, New York, 14 December 1976 An Illustration from a Bhagavata Purana series:
Krishna Battles the horse demon Kesha
Malwa, circa 1680-90
Opaque watercolor on paper; verso with two lines of Braj text; the
central panel showing Krishna defeating the demon horse Kesha,
flanked by registers of villages and Krishna in discourse.
Image: 8 1/8 by 13 1/4 in. (20.6 x 33.7 cm); Folio 9 1/8 x 14 1/4 in.
(23.2 x 36.2 cm)
$4,000 - 6,000
Provenance
Kapoor Gallery, 1984
Paul F. Walter Collection
Sotheby’s, New York, 14 November 2002, lot 6
Private Collection, Canada
100 | BONHAMS
