Page 186 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

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A ILLUSTRATION FROM A RUKMINI HARAN SERIES: KRISHNA ON
THE ROAD TO KUNDINAPURA
NORTH INDIA, PUNJAB HILLS, GARHWAL, ATTRIBUTED TO MOLA RAM,
CIRCA 1800
Folio 7Ω x 10¬ in. (19.1 x 27 cm.)
Image 7 x 10 in. (17.8 x 25.4 cm.)
$30,000-50,000
PROVENANCE:
Balak Ram, Srinagar, acquired by descent from the artist.
Mukandi Lal, Allahabad, acquired from the above in 1953.
Sotheby's New York, 15 March 2017, lot 310.
LITERATURE:
M. Lal, Garhwal Painting, New Delhi, 1968, pp. 84-85, no. XXII.
The Rukmini Haran, part of the Bhagavata Purana, is among the most popular
series to be illustrated in the Garhwal court, with at least three sets known to have
been produced circa 1800. The epic tells the story of the marriage of Krishna and
Rukmini, a princess betrothed to the king Shishupala, despite her longings to be
with Krishna. The present scene shows Krishna departing Dwarka after Rukmini
sends him a Brahmin messenger to plan an elopement. Krishna is strategizing with
the Brahmin as his charioteer Daruka leads them to Rukmini at Kundinapura. On
the red banner is a figure of Hanuman. The curvilinear skyline framing the rounded
chariot and arching leaps of the famed horses Saibya, Sugrive, Meghapushpa
and Balahaka create a balanced composition, leading the viewer's eyes towards
Krishna, despite being off center.
The series has been attributed to Mola Ram (c. 1743-1833), who introduced
the Kangra style into the Garhwal school of painting around 1777, and lead the
Kingdom’s workshop until the Gorkha invasion in 1804. He was trained by his
father Mangat Ram in the Mughal style until visiting Sansar Chand’s (c. 1765-1824)
court at Kangra at the age of 25. There he was exposed to the qalam of the great
masters of the Pandit Seu family and adopted the Kangra style and motifs.

The activist and politician Mukandi Lal is credited with elevating Garhwali art
history in public light, becoming an authority on, and enthusiastic collector of,
Garhwali painting and the artist Mola Ram in particular. Mukandi Lal acquired
thirteen of the fifteen paintings from the current series from Balak Ram, the great-
grandson of Mola Ram. These thirteen paintings, including the present lot, were all
published in 1968 in Garhwal Painting; the two remaining paintings were acquired
by the scholar J.C. French in 1930.
Other paintings from this series, previously from the collection of Mukandi Lal,
are at the Brooklyn Museum of Art (acc. no. 86.227.202), and the Edwin Binney III
Collection at the San Diego Museum of Art (acc. nos. 1990.1087 and 1990.1088).
Another illustration from the Gloria Katz and Willard Huyk Collection sold at
Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2002, lot 72. A similar Garhwal painting depicting
the same scene is in the collection of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (acc.
no. BD85D5).

M. Lal, Garhwal Painting, New Delhi, 1968, cover and p. 85.