Page 197 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED
WEST COAST COLLECTION
482
A PAINTING OF BAZ BAHADUR AND RUPMATI HUNTING
AT NIGHT
INDIA, MUGHAL, DELHI, 18TH CENTURY
Folio 10√ x 15º in. (27.6 x 38.7 cm.)
Image 6æ x 9 in. (17.1 x 22.9 cm.)
$10,000-15,000
PROVENANCE:
Acquired from Dr. Wiliam Ehrenfeld, San Francisco, 1984, by repute.
This folio represents a popular subject in Indian painting, the love
between Sultan Baz Bahadur and his courtesan Rupmati. Baz
Bahadur (r. 1555-61) was the last king of Malwa before its absorption
into the Mughal Empire who fell for the beautiful musician, dancer and
poetess Rupmati after encountering her on a hunting trip. Rupmati
was made Queen of Malwa, but the fantastic love story came to a
tragic end in 1561, when the Mughal Emperor Akbar and his forces
took the kingdom. Baz Bahadur fled without his beloved Rupmati, who
then decided to commit suicide rather than submit to their conqueror.
In the present painting, the two are wildly absorbed in each other’s
gaze, illuminated against the dark somber night. They are completely
oblivious to their soon to be ill-fated ending, as an army of soldiers
follow in their wake. Dark, theriomorphic clouds gather above the
soldiers. This subject, due to its representation of a great short-lived
passion and an impending despair, was particularly popular in 18th
century Mughal painting, as the imperial capital, Delhi, was subject to
constant threat and decline. For another Delhi school example from
the same period, a similar painting is published in D. Ehnbom, Indian
Miniatures: The Ehrenfeld Collection, New York, 1985, no. 30, pp. 76-77.

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