Page 36 - Bonhams, Indian and Himalayan Art New York July 23, 2020

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AN ILLUSTRATED SCROLL OF THE MAHABHARATA This expansive scroll from Kashmir is finely illuminated with an initial,
KASHMIR, LATE 18TH CENTURY replaced illustration of Ganesha followed by six vignettes from the
Opaque watercolor and ink heightened with gold on paper; together Mahabharata surrounded by gold arabesques. A closely related
with its wood mount and original painted wood tube that bears a label example is published in Gupta, Masterpieces from the National
identifying it as 1 of 18 in a Mahabharata set. Museum Collection, Delhi, 1985, p.91, no.123. A very similar scroll
906 x 6 in. (2300 x 15 cm) of the Bhagavata Purana is in the British Library (add.16624; Losty,
The Art of the Book in India, Bradford, 1982). Losty explains that
$10,000 - 15,000 the tradition of copying Hindu works in minute scripts on long paper
scrolls probably originated in Kashmir in the early 18th century, partly
in imitation of miniature Qur’an manuscripts that circulated in north
India. The style is relatively indeterminate and relates to the Delhi style
of the late-18th and 19th centuries. Compare further examples sold at
Christie’s, London, 12 June 2018, lot 81 and Bonhams, New York, 17
September 2014, lot 149.

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