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FOLIO 34 FROM THE MEWARI SAKUNAVALI FOLIO 16 FROM THE MEWARI SAKUNAVALI
(BOOK OF OMENS): (BOOK OF OMENS):
GAJARAJA, KING OF ELEPHANTS A WHITE PALACE IN A LOTUS LAKE
Udaipur, circa 1720 Udaipur, circa 1720
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; two lines of devanagari in Opaque watercolor on paper; and two lines of devanagari in
the yellow text field. the yellow text-field.
Image: 8 x 7 1/8 in. (20.3 x 18.1 cm); Image: 7 3/4 x 6 7/8 in. (19.7 x 17.4 cm);
Folio: 10 x 8 1/4 in. (25.4 x 21 cm) Folio: 10 1/8 x 8 3/8 in. (25.7 x 21.3 cm)
$7,000 - 10,000 $7,000 - 10,000
“Gajaraja: If an elephant is seen, one will be benefitted by favors ‘Increasing love and welfare in the world, destroying grief with
including financial gains from the royal court. One will be blessed with happiness, attaining the benefits of the highest form of ecstasy:
a son, and prosperity will be increased by leaps and bounds: thus (all these) boats and lotuses indicate. 16, the best omen, volume 4.
speaks Sukaraja. 34, an excellent omen, volume 4. ([In a different ([In a different hand] Value 1.)’
hand] Value 1.)”
A handbook for interpreting dreams, the Sakunavali was an
The Sakunavali ranks omens into poor, good, excellent, and best. indispensable part of any royal library. Here, the artist has transformed
Compare this painting to the excellent omen of the Black Buck ‘boats and lotuses’ into this idyllic scene of a lake palace. It bears
sold at Bonhams, New York, 14 September 2015, lot 110. Similarly possible reference to the Jal Mahal at Jaipur, built by Jai Singh II in
here, the artist concentrates all attention on the singular boon of the the early 18th century. His lake palace lived in the Rajasthani popular
mighty elephant – owned by those who are able to dispense power imagination as a site of great pleasure associated with all the gifts this
and fortune. omen is said to foresee. Jagat Singh II would go on to build his own
lake palace, the Jag Niwas, in Udaipur between 1743-46, after this
This widely dispersed manuscript of 95 folios is the best-known painting was made.
existent Sakunavali. For a discussion on the set see Topsfield,
Court Paintings at Udaipur, Zurich, 2001, p. 144 and 145, no. 117. Provenance
Private European Collection since 1990s
Provenance
Private European Collection since early 1990s
142 | BONHAMS
