Page 81 - Indian and Himalayan Art, March 15, 2017 Sotheby's NYC
P. 81
272
272
PROPERTY FROM THE LANIER COLLECTION Given the loose and spontaneous nature of our For further discussion see M. C. Beach, ‘Wall
drawing - with its many pentimenti and vigorous Paintings at Bundi: Comments and a New
AN ELEPHANT COMBAT handling - it may be safe to assume that the Discovery’, in Artibus Asiae 68/1, 2008, M. C.
India, Rajasthan, Kotah, present drawing is not just a copy of an elephant Beach, ‘The Masters of the Chunar Ragamala and
late 17th/early 18th Century combat composition from the Badal Mahal - it is the Hada Master,’ in M. C. Beach, E. Fischer and
clearly pounced for transfer. It could be that our B. N. Goswamy, Masters of Indian Painting 1100-
Black ink and charcoal with yellow highlights and drawing represents a working-out phase of the 1650, Artibus Asiae Sup. 48/I, 2011, p. 291–304,
white chalk on pounced paper composition as a stage toward the completion of and in D. Mason (ed.), Intimate Worlds: Indian
image: 17¾ by 22¾ in. (43.2 by 55.8 cm) the wall paintings at the palace. Paintings from the Alvin O. Bellak Collection,
Philadelphia, 2001, p. 158–9, cat. 65.
PROVENANCE An ink drawing in the Philadelphia Museum from
the Alvin O. Bellak Collection (accession no. $ 4,000-6,000
Christie’s New York, March 20, 2012, lot 314 2004-149-61) depicts a more elaborated but
smaller version of the same scene as a more
Two immensely powerful elephants tangle and
thunder in combat - their handlers leaping and nished drawing. Milo Cleveland Beach has
scattering as a single mahout attempts to control identi ed an artist he has termed “The Hada
one with his goad. Master” as the creator of the Bellak drawing and
connects that drawing to a composition at the
This composition is very close to a wall painting in Badal Mahal.
the Badal Mahal (“Cloud Palace”) at the Palace of
Bundi and this large drawing may have been used
as a modello for transfer to a wall as evidenced by
its pinpricked outlines and pouncing.
INDIAN, HIMALAYAN AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN WORKS OF ART 79
