Page 80 - Bonhams Indian and Himalayan Art September 2013

108 109

108 110
An illustration from a ragamala series: kanada ragini Rupmati and Baz Bahadur hunting
Late Mughal, late 18th century Late Mughal, late 18th century
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; under a starry night sky, Krishna Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; bounding on horseback across
sits atop of a hill holding the tusks of the vanquished elephant, his rolling hills, the couple seize a deer in concert, bold Rupmati lassoing it
victory celebrated by two attendants holding spears, while a crowned with her bow and Baz Bahadur aiming the arrow.
figure, possibly Lakshmana, joins his hands in veneration, small ring- Image: 7 3/4 x 10 3/8 in. (19.5 x 26.2 cm)
tailed mongooses approach the elephant nervously and one seizes $4,000 - 6,000
his severed trunk. Mounted in a blue album page with red nasta’liq
inscription at the top. Baz Bahadur was the last independent sultan of Mandu and a great lover of
Image: 9 x 6 in. (23 x 16 cm); Folio: 11 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (29 x 21.5 cm) music. Once out hunting he became enchanted by a shepherdess, Rupmati,
$2,000 - 4,000 and her song. The two married according to Hindu and Muslim rites and
lived happily until Emperor Akbar sent his army to conquer Mandu. Baz
Provenance: Bahadur set out to confront it, but was no match for the imperial force and
Private Collection, New York fled to Chittigargh while Rupmati poisoned herself to evade capture.
Collected in Boston in the 1950s
Compare with a closely related composition in the Yale University Art Gallery
109 (1962.7) and another in the Victoria and Albert Museum (IS.294-1952).
An illustration from a ramayana series: a battle scene at Lanka
Murshidabad, late 18th century Provenance:
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; with Vibhishana, Hanuman, Private Collection, New York
Jambhavan, and Angada reporting to Rama and Lakshmana in procession Acquired in Paris in the 1980s
below, above the monkey and bear army wage battle with the demons.
Image: 8 x 5 1/2 in. (20.3 x 14 cm) 111
$10,000 - 15,000 Rustam slaying the dragon
Late Mughal, Agra, 19th century
A closely related page the Impey Ramayana was sold at Bonhams, New Opaque watercolor and gold on board; the nimbate warrior leaps from his
York, 19 March 2012, lot 1173, and another is held in the Los Angeles lavishly saddled steed caught in the claws of the dragon to slay the beast.
County Museum of Art (M.72.88.3). Image: 6 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. (17.5 x 19.9 cm)
$3,000 - 5,000
Provenance:
Private Collection, New York Provenance:
Private Collection, New York
In handwritten ink on the verso: “From agra, India - February 1926”; and
the same handwriting on the back of the from saying: “From Ganeshi Lall,
agra. Italy 1926”

78 | Bonhams