Page 130 - Bonhams Indian and Himalayan Art March 2016 New York

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AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A RAGAMALA SERIES: AN ILLUSTRATION FROM AN AVATAR SERIES:
ASAVARI RAGINI NARASIMHA DISEMBOWLS HIRANYAKASHIPU
Hyderabad, 1760-1770 Hyderabad, circa 1800
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; nastaliq inscription in border Opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper.
above translated, ‘asavari ragini dipak’. Image: 6 1/2 x 4 1/4 in. (16.5 x 10.8 cm)
Image: 5 1/2 x 3 3/8 in. (14 x 8.6 cm); Folio: 7 1/2 x 5 1/8 in. (19 x 13 cm)
Folio: 7 3/8 x 4 5/8 in. (18.8 x 11.8 cm) $4,000 - 6,000
$1,500 - 2,500
The split silver pillar disrupts an otherwise perfect symmetry, adding a
This painting is a small-scale copy of the Asavari from the Johnson sense of movement behind the brilliant gold avatar. His delightful grin
Ragamala, held in the British Library, and the parallel version of that betrays the inherent violence of the scene, and creates a depiction
within the Seitz Collection (see Seyller & Seitz, Mughal and Deccani easy to adore.
Paintings, Zürich, 2010, colorplate 48).
Provenance
In the cool early morning air, two female ascetics meet under trees on Private Virginia Collection
the rocky outcrops of two lotus ponds. Asavari plays her melancholic
melody on the pungi and attracts golden snakes. Her companion
reenacts the role of bare-chested Gorakhanatha, the celebrated
male yogi, who gave Asavari her instrument. This composition is an
iconographic variant peculiar to Hyderabad. In traditional iconography
Asavari sits lonely on the summit of sandalwood mountains drawing
snakes towards her.

Provenance
Private European Collection, acquired between 1968-72

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