Page 114 - Maitri CollectionAsian Art Bonhams

3237
AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A RAGAMALA SERIES: SINDHAVA PUTRA OF RAGA
CHAMBA, NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1690-1700
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; verso inscribed with two lines of takri: “pan(cham)
raga saindhava - I - sri / raga saindhava shri rageda putra”; and one line of devanagari:
“raga saindhava shri rageda putra”, translated “Sindhava Raga, son of Shri”; numbered
“2492” within a Mandi library cartouche and “46” above.
Folio: 8 1/2 x 6 1/8 in. (21.6 x 15.6 cm); Image: 7 3/8 x 4 1/2 in. (18.8 x 11.9 cm)

$30,000 - 50,000
A noble warrior clad in a lilac robe mounts his magnificent white steed with wispy mane
and tail. Wearing yellow boots with red floral embellishments, he plants his right foot
firmly on the olive ground while lifting his left leg to the stirrup as he hoists himself up by
grasping both sides of the aquamarine saddle. His groom stands by in stoic command of
the prized stallion, gripping its reigns tightly with his left hand, and holding a white rope in
his right that may have tethered the horse to the tree providing them with shade.

The leaves are cleverly composed of two shades of green: a light sage for the lower
branches to blend with the olive background, and a piquant aquamarine for the upper
branches to lead the eye up in a sweeping diagonal from the attendant’s trousers, over
the saddle, and towards the sky.

This miniature is from a dispersed album once in the Mandi royal collection, consisting of
various Hindu and Rajput subjects, such as ragamalas and avatars, produced by a single
studio. Whereas they had previously been thought to stem from Bilaspur, Glynn has
recently reattributed them to the court of Chamba (see, Glynn et al., Ragamala, London,
2011, p.34).

Four folios from this series in the Kronos Collection are published in McInerney et al.,
Divine Pleasures New York, 2016, p.142-9, nos.45-8. Other paintings from the same
series were sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 23 May 2006, lots 86-92; 29 March 2006,
lots 164, 165, 167 & 168; and more recently at Christie’s, London, 25 April 2013, lot
184; Christie’s, South Kensington, 10 June 2013, lots 2-7; and Christie’s, New York, 18
September 2013, lot 357A.

Published
Simon Ray Ltd, Indian & Islamic Art, London, 2007, no.44.

Provenance
Royal Mandi Collection
Private German Collection
Sotheby’s, New York, 29 March 2006, lot 166
Simon Ray Ltd, London, 26 February 2007

112 | BONHAMS