Page 132 - Bonhams Indian and Himalayan Art March 2016 New York

90
A PORTRAIT OF MAHARAJA RATAN SINGH OF BIKANER
Kishangarh, circa 1830
Opaque watercolor on paper; verso inscription translated:
‘Maharaja Ratan Singh of Bikaner. Work of Surath Jana Nagara”.
Image: 9 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. (24.7 x 16.4 cm);
Folio: 11 3/8 x 8 in. (28.7 x 20.2 cm)
$1,000 - 1,500
This quiet painting seats Ratan Singh (r. 1828-1851) on a white
terrace before a lake typical of Kishangarh paintings. Compare it with
an example sold at Bonhams, New York, 11 September 2012, lot
80. Here, his red turban and patka descend from the courtly fashions
under Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (r. 1719-48). And while
the strong accents of his regalia enliven it, and swimming ducks
draw horizontal lines across it, there is a curious melancholic vacuity his city lies under a golden sky at dusk below a swelling storm. Hidden
to the painting.
Provenance
Private European Collection, acquired between 1968-72
130 | BONHAMS
91
A KING FORDING A LAKE TO HIS BELOVED
Bundi, circa 1770-1780
Opaque watercolor with gold and silver on paper; verso inscription
translated: ‘When [she] saw [him] submerging in the deep water,
[she] called out to the horse’.
Image: 11 x 6 7/8 in. (28 x 17.5 cm);
Folio: 14 1/4 x 10 in. (31.2 x 25.3 cm)
$8,000 - 12,000
Bypassing the attention of a guard seated at the entrance and leaving
his retinue behind on the shore, this nimbate king ventures across the
river towards his lover reaching out from her balcony.
The silver-toned lake shimmers and sweeps into the distance, where
from view behind an elaborate tree, two boatmen wait in an orange
barge furnished with a canopy ready to shelter the absconding couple.
This subject is also depicted in a mural at the Chitramahal of Bundi
palace, which Beach dates circa 1790 (Rajput Painting in Bundi and
Kota, Ascona, 1974, fig. 47). Another painting is also published in
Simon Ray, April 2007, no. 55.
Provenance
Private European Collection, acquired between 1968-72