Page 103 - 2021 March 17th, Indian and Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, Christie's New York City

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Museum of Art (acc. no. 1989.334), Radha's Sakhi coaxes Radha to meet Chand of Lambagraon (r. 1935-1988), a direct descendant of Sansar Chand’s
Krishna, as Krishna prepares a bed of leaves for their midnight romance. brother, Raja Fateh Chand (d. 1828). While it is not known precisely when the
series was commissioned, it is generally understood that either Sansar or
As Goswami and Fischer have aptly noted, in the ‘Lambagraon series,’ “nature Fateh Chand had been its patron. The present example once belonging the
is celebrated with rare abandon” (see M. Beach, E. Fischer, and B.N. Goswamy, esteemed Ehrenfeld Collection, the forty seven remaining pages have since
Masters of Indian Painting: 1650-1900, Zurich, 2011, p.728 for a discussion on been dispersed into notable museum and private collections, including the
the series).The abundant landscape, with not a straight line in sight, echoes Los Angeles Museum of Art (acc. no. M.71.49.7), the Cleveland Museum of Art
the rhythmic lyricism of the text. The cascading floral splays glisten in the (acc. no. 1989.334), The Brooklyn Museum (acc. no. 72.43), Museum Rietberg
moonlight and perfectly frame the spotlighted figures amid the cloak of the Zurich (acc. nos. RVI 1852 and B45), the San Diego Museum of Art (Edwin
dusk sky. A stream from the Yamuna river, with thin white lining representing Binney 3rd Collection, acc. no. 1990.1297), The National Museum Delhi (acc.
its banks, runs through the foreground. no. 65.304), and the Mittal Museum (acc. no. 76.300). Few folios have come
to market since the 20th century. A folio from the 'Tehri Garwhal' series sold
The ‘Lambagraon’ Gita Govinda takes its name from the small princely-state at Christie's New York on 17 September 2013, lot 366, for $207,750. Most
of Lambagraon, the residence of the Katoch family, the former rulers of recently, an illustration from the 'Lambagraon' set sold at Sotheby’s London,
Kangra. The series first came to market in 1964, from the hands of Raja Dhrub 19 October 2016, lot 28.