Page 87 - Indian and Himalayan Art, March 15, 2017 Sotheby's NYC
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PROPERTY FROM THE LANIER COLLECTION Beneath a lavish gold and jeweled arched dome Rai Venkatchellam, the most acclaimed painting
the famous Deccani courtesan and poetess master from the court of Nizam Ali Khan
CHANDABIBI AS A FOUR-ARMED Chandabibi (called Malaqabai) sits cross-legged (1734-1803) of Hyderabad, had also painted
GODDESS - enthroned on a lotus on a oral carpet idealized Chandabibi (in human form) riding a palanquin,
ATTRIBUTED TO RAI as a four-armed goddess. She wears a tall gold in a depiction of a hunting expedition of Nizam
VENKATCHELLAM crown. Accompanied by a lord depicted as II. Other paintings by Rai Venkatchellam are in
India, Deccan, Hyderabad, sa ron-clad brahmin priest and a handmaiden the San Diego Museum of Art (accession nos.
circa 1790 waving a chowrie set against a brilliant emerald 1990.560 and 1990.559 “Mahlaqa Bhai with a
green ground rising to a blue sky. Lover”), the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper David Collection (inv. no. 14/2015) which depicts
image: 11¾ by 8¼ in. (27.9 by 20.3 cm) Malaqabai Chanda’s face is unmistakable - we an arched domed and columned structure very
easily recognize her from portraits like the much like the magni cent overarching canopy in
PROVENANCE Twentieth Century example in the Salar Jung our present painting.
Museum in Hyderabad. She was a poetess who
Acquired 1994 composed verse in Persian and Urdu and was the $ 8,000-12,000
rst female sahib-i-diwan - a collected poet. She
is being revered in our painting - metaphorically
as a goddess - for her intellect, talent and
accomplishments.
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