Page 195 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED WEST COAST COLLECTION
481
AN ILLUSTRATION TO A BHAGAVATA PURANA SERIES:
KRISHNA AND SATYAMBHA STORM PRAGYOTISHA
NEPAL, 1775-1800
Folio 14º x 22in. (55.5 x 36.2cm.)
Image 12¬ x 20ºin. (32.2 x 51.5cm.)
$30,000-50,000
PROVENANCE:
Sotheby's New York, 28 April 1981, lot 122.
Paul F. Walter Collection, New York.
Bonhams New York, 19 March 2012, lot 1162.

LITERATURE:
P. Pal, Nepal: Where the Gods are Young, New York, 1975, pp. 114-115, cat. 85b.
This present lot shows a fascinating synergy between Krishna’s adolescence
and adulthood. His life in Braj, outlined in Book X of the Bhagavata Purana, is
defined by passionate encounters with the gopis, female cow herders devoted
to Krishna. As an adult, Krishna is remembered as a warrior and spiritual
guide, especially to Arjuna as they embark to defeat the Kaurava army. Aboard
Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu, Krishna the warrior and Krishna the lover collide.
Several aesthetic and material elements reveal a specific Nepali influence,
a living testament to the impact of Hindu myth throughout the South Asian
region. Krishna and his companion, pictured riding Garuda in the bottom right
corner, wear crowns that feature a fringe-like adornment, recalling the Bird of
Paradise feathered crescent plumes on the Nepalese royal family’s crowns.
Furthermore, Krishna’s sword resembles the kukri, the national weapon of
Nepal, because of its thin base, expanded upper end, and metallic appearance.
In fact, the emphasis on military weapons in the painting’s border reflects
the martial atmosphere in Nepal at the end of the eighteenth century, when
the Shah dynasty fell and the Gorkha empire began. The physical landscape
encapsulates a distinct Himalayan environment in the multi-colored jagged
peaks, the river that runs through the town, and the distinctly Nepalese
architecture. At a structural level, the neatly reflected town scene and play
with round and square shapes echo the mandala, an important consideration
given that the Kathmandu Valley is coneived as a physical mandala. This
comparison clearly establishes the illustration’s deeply rooted connection
to the Himalayan region, and the artist’s impressive skill to blend majestic
Hindu and Nepali cultures. In beautiful red, blue, orange, and pink hues, this
illustration is a mythological, historical, and aesthetic feast.

P. Pal, Nepal: Where the Gods are Young, New York, 1975, cover and p. 114.