Page 95 - 2020 September 23 Himalyan and Southeast Asian Works of Art Bonhams

653
A STIPPLED SKETCH OF SHRI BRIJNATHJI PLAYING
HOLI WITH THE GOPIS
KOTAH, EARLY 18TH CENTURY
Black and red ink and white gouache on paper.
The recto’s scene stippled throughout its outline;
meanwhile on the verso the artist continues variations on
the scene.
5 x 7 in. (12.6 x 17.8 cm)

$2,000 - 3,000
Full of distinctive interactions, this drawing served as a
finished template used to layout paintings. Amongst the
delightful vignettes imagined by the artist are two girls
behind Shri Brijnathji delighting in each other’s company, a
foremost maiden in front spraying him with a defiant look,
and a beautiful woman (top right) catching a glimpse over
the crowd; even a little girl spies an opening for a cheap
shot up-close.

Here, the painter follows a Rajasthani convention of
depicting the ruler in his own likeness as a personification
of Shri Brijnathji. The arrangement of the ruler’s turban and
his distinctive profile, with a long, pointed nose, matches
a portrait of Rao Arjun Singh of Kota inspecting a horse
(Goswamy & Fischer, Pahari Masters, Zurich, 1992,
p.476, fig.19). A related, similarly elaborate composition
of Krishna and the Cowherds is published in Pal, The
Sensuous Line, Los Angeles, 1976, p.25, no.17.

Provenance
Ray E. Lewis, San Francisco, 1960s
Collection of Milo Cleveland Beach

654
SHUKRACHARYA EXTOLS THE DEEDS OF KRISHNA
TO MAHARAJA RAO RAM SINGH OF KOTA
KOTAH, CIRCA 1700
Black and red ink on paper.
Folio: 4 3/4 x 5 3/8 in. (12 x 13.5 cm)
$2,000 - 3,000

Rao Ram Singh of Kota and his entourage sit attentively
before the revered sage, Shukracharya. This preparatory
sketch’s heavy outline, particularly in the treatment of
the eyes and facial features, are consistent with Kotah
paintings of the early 18th century. See another portrait of
Ram Singh, in the Mittal Collection, published in Topsfield,
Rajasthani Drawings, Hyderabad, 2015, p.96, no.42.

Published
Joachim K. Bautze, “Mural Paintings of the Krishnalila at
Karwar,” in Crill, Stronge, and Topsfield, Arts of Mughal
India, London, 2004, p.272, fig.11.

Provenance
Sangram Singh of Nawalgarh
Collection of Milo Cleveland Beach

INDIAN, HIMALAYAN & SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART | 93