Page 154 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

THE COLLECTION OF MARILYN T. GRAYBURN,
NEW YORK
467
A PAINTING FROM THE 'SECOND GULER'
RAMAYANA SERIES: THE GREAT MONKEY
ARMY BATTLES INDRAJIT
NORTH INDIA, PUNJAB HILLS, KANGRA OR
GULER, MASTER OF THE FIRST GENERATION
AFTER NAINSUKH AND MANAKU, CIRCA 1790-
1800
Folio 9√ x 13√ in. (25.1 x 35.2 cm.)
Image 8 x 11√ in. (20.3 x 30.2 cm.)
$30,000-50,000
This illustration is from a series known as the 'Second
Guler' Ramayana, attributed to the first generation of
artists after Manaku and Nainsukh. The first section
of the series, illustrated in the previous lot, dating to
1775- 1780, is known as the ‘Bharany’ Ramayana. The
'Bharany' comprises illustrations from the first three
books of the Ramayana. The second section of the
series, completed by the same generation of artists
and dating slightly later to circa 1790, comprises
illustrations from Books Five and Six.

The present lot comes from the second section and
belongs to Book Six, the Yuddhakanda or the Book of
War. This beautifully rendered painting depicts the
battle between Lakshmana and Indrajit. Lakshmana’s
arrows are swiftly headed for Indrajit, the most furious
warrior of Ravana’s army. Hanuman and his army of
monkeys, Rama and Lakshmana’s close allies, hurl
boulders and thrust large tree branches to ward off
their demon opponents, who come armed with swords
and maces. The resplendent golden fortress, Ravana’s
court, can be seen from a distance as Lakshmana and
his team advance.
Other pages from this series are in the Philadelphia
Museum of Art (acc. no. 1982-34-1), the Asian Art
Museum, San Francisco (acc. no. 1992.95), Walters
Art Museum (acc. nos. W.877, W.902, W.909), the
Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc no. 1987.424.13), and
the San Diego Museum of Art (acc. no. 1990.1282).
Paintings from this series have also sold at Bonhams
New York, 11 September 2012, lot 89, and more
recently at Christie’s London, 12 June 2018, lot 26 for
GBP 52,500.

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