Page 18 - Bonhams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art March 2019
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AN ILLUSTRATED FOLIO FROM THE FIRST BABURNAMA Two pairs of parrots, flaunting brilliant red and green feathers, perch in a
BY KANHA AND KHEM, tree’s gnarled branches. One pair face one another on lower branches,
MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1589 while the others preen and look out over a churning stream below.
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; verso text area with nine lines
of nasta’liq in black ink within a gold border, and nasta’liq inscription The folio comes from a collection of memoirs written by Babur,
in red ink, translated, “Drawn by Kanha, colored by Khem son of the progenitor of an imperial dynasty that would govern the Indian
Narayan”; and numbered “112”. subcontinent for centuries. Babur meticulously recorded not only his
Image: 2 3/8 x 3 in. (6 x 7.6 cm); own life events but also the fascinating and new natural world he found
Text area: 7 x 3 in. (17.7 x 7.6 cm); when he first arrived in India in 1526.
Folio: 10 3/8 x 6 1/8 in. (26.3 x 15.5 cm)
$20,000 - 30,000
16 | BONHAMS
