Page 16 - Indian, Himalayan and Tibetan Art March 2018

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AN ILLUSTRATION TO THE BHAGAVATA This superb illustration is a recent discovery that may be
PURANA: KRISHNA SUBDUES THE SERPENT attributed to the Early Master at the Court of Mandi active in
KING KAALIYA the period 1635-1660 during the reigns of Raja Hari Sen and his
India, Mandi, mid-17th Century son Raja Suraj Sen of Mandi. It adds signi+ cantly to the small
Attributed to the Early Master at the court of corpus of known works attributed to this master and presents
an extraordinary opportunity to acquire a rare and previously
Mandi (1635-1660) unpublished masterpiece.
Opaque watercolor on paper heightened with gold
Here we see a youthful Krishna dancing with his arms
image: 12⅜ by 8⅝ in. (31.4 by 21.9 cm)
outstretched on one head of the serpent Kaaliya. He stands
folio: 13⅞ by 10 in. (35.2 by 25.4 cm) unframed
within a vibrant golden mandorla. Crowds of onlookers - his
young companions, gopas, gopis and village elders watch in
PROVENANCE
amazement - standing to the left and right. Below in the River
Collection of Mr. Gordon H. Mattison, Maryland
Yamuna the naga wives of the serpent Kaaliya implore Krishna
to spare their husband - o% ering tributes of lotus blossoms.
$ 70,000-90,000
Pairs of birds < y across the brilliant jade-green ground. Above
in the swirling clouds Brahma, Shiva and Parvati, Kings, Devas
and a Rishi shower blessings on the scene below. The clouds
tinged with vibrant vermilion red. A lapis blue sky above.
The present folio belongs to a Bhagavata Purana series + rst
attributed to “The Early Master of the Court of Mandi” by
Catherine Glynn in two groundbreaking articles in 1983 and
1995 (Catherine Glynn, “Early Painting in Mandi” Artibus
Asiae 44/1, 1983, pp. 21-64 and Catherine Glynn, “Further
Evidence for Early Painting in Mandi” Artibus Asiae 55 1995,
pp. 183-190). This scholarship dated the series to the mid-
seventeenth Century and identi+ ed the hand of the artist
who was responsible for introducing and developing a style
directly in< uenced by Mughal painting. These mannerisms are
notable. They include the highly Mughalized naturalism in the
portraiture of several of the onlookers, particularly the realistic
depiction of the village elders - perhaps portraits of Mandi
nobility. The overall composition and color palette featuring
the brilliant jade green ground and extremely vibrant lapis/
ultramarine sky tinged with vermilion are also noteworthy. The
particular shaded facial types of several of the females are
similar to - but distinct from - faces seen in Bikaner paintings.
Our present painting is surely one of the liveliest and most
impressive works known by the artist. Another painting from
the same Bhagavata Purana series in the Kronos Collection
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art may be considered a
companion folio.
For more discussion on the artistic development of The Early
Master at the Court of Mandi see Stella Kramrisch “Painted
Delight: Indian Paintings from Philadelphia Collections”
Philadelphia Museum of Art 1986 no. 113; and Stuart Cary
Welch, A Flower From Every Meadow, New York, 1973, cat. 33,
p. 65. Also see Sotheby’s London, October 19 2016, lot 5.
We would like to thank Mitche Kunzman for his assistance with
the identi+ cation of this painting.

14 SOTHEBY’S