Page 89 - ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND INDIAN WORLDS Carpets, Ceramics Objects, Christie's London Oct..27, 2022

68 INSCRIPTIONS:
Above the painting: Rasikapriya of Keshav Das, verse 30 and the heading
KRISHNA MEETING HIS BELOVED AT NIGHT (NISHIMILAN) niscaraka... 'going out at night'
ATTRIBUTED TO NURUDDIN, BIKANER, INDIA, DATED SV 1751/1694- On the reverse: Bikaner inventory note from 1694 inventory: Am.32 jam...
95 AD [damage] su sambhaliya 'no.32....bundle'
An illustration from the Rasikapriya of Keshav Das, opaque pigments
heightened with gold on paper laid down on a later pink support, the reverse This illustration depicts the same scene as the preceding lot. Here the sky
plain is stormier and streaked by lightning and we see cranes making a dash for
Painting 7q x 5qin. (19 x 14.3cm.); folio 9 x 7in. (23 x 18cm.) cover in the trees. Again we see the gopis, here led by Nanda, returning to the
£18,000-25,000 US$21,000-29,000 village at the bottom of the composition having left their charges in a pen for
€21,000-28,000 the night.
Our painting comes from a known series dating from early in Rana Raj
PROVENANCE:
Bikaner Royal Collection Singh’s reign (r.1652-80). 54 pages of the group are recorded in the former
Bikaner Royal Collection (A.Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under
LITERATURE:
the patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, Zurich, 2002, pp.91-92) and are
J.P. Losty, Indian Paintings from the Ludwig Habighorst Collection, Francesca
identifiable through the repaired damage in the top of the folios, having been
Galloway, London, 2018, no.41
attacked at some point by a hungry rodent. The series is based on an earlier
one commissioned by Raja Jagat Singh (r.1628-52) and painted by Sahib
The present and following lot both illustrate verse 30 from chapter 5 of
Din. This series however shows the work of several hands. Other illustrations
the Rasikapriya of Keshav Das: Nishimilan, ‘meeting in darkness’. Originally
from the series are now in the National Museum, New Delhi and Neotia
presented to Rajkumar Singh of Orccha in 1591, the Rasikapriya classifies
Collection (R.C. Sharma, Indian Art Treasures: Suresh Neotia Collection,
and analyses the various types of romantic heroes (nayaka), heroines (nayika)
New Delhi, 2006, nos.80-82). Others have been sold by Sam Fogg (Sam
and the moods that inspire them. Here we see an evening scene in which the
Fogg, Sale catalogue, 1999, no.41) and Sotheby’s, London, 12 December
cowherds, gopis, are making their way home. However the two lovers, here
1972, lot 113.
represented by Krishna and Radha, hang back from their friends so as to
share a kiss amongst the trees.
This painting comes from the Royal Bikaner Rasikapriyawhich consists of 187
paintings. Begun by the Bikaner master Ruknuddin at the time of the Siege 70
of Golconda in 1687, it would be continued by his pupils. With the death of
PORTRAIT OF MU'IZZ AL-MULK
Maharaja Anup Singh in 1698 work on the series was paused, only to restart PERSIAN OR TURKISH ARTIST IN THE DECCAN, CENTRAL INDIA,
again in 1712. This painting can be attributed to Ruknuddin's pupil Nuruddin. 17TH CENTURY
68
The style, with delicate modelling of the faces and masterly depiction of
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, identificatory inscription in
textiles, seems to be his when compared with another painting from the black nasta'liq, set between gold ruled and cropped pink margin, the reverse
series attributed to him in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York plain
(1981.371.1) and Khajanchi Collection (Khandalavala et al., Miniature Painting: Painting 6q x 3ºin. (16.5 x 8.3cm.); folio 6w x 3¬in. (17.5 x 9.1cm.)
a catalogue of the exhibition of the Sri Motichand Khajanchi collection, New
£15,000-25,000 US$18,000-29,000
Delhi, 1960, fig.72).
€18,000-28,000
EXHIBITED:
Islamische Kunst aus deutschen Privatbesitz, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe,
69 Hamburg,18 June - 22 August 1993.
KRISHNA MEETING HIS BELOVED AT NIGHT (NISHIMILAN) LITERATURE:
MEWAR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA, CIRCA 1660 J. Bautze in C.P. Haase, J. Kröger, U. Lienert, Morgenländische Pracht, Edition
An illustration from the Rasikapriya of Keshav Das, opaque pigments Stemmen, Hamburg 1993, pl.187a.
heightened with gold on paper, with yellow borders and black rules, set within A. Heeramaneck, Masterpieces of Indian Painting formerly in the Nasli M.
a red margin, a panel above with 3ll. black devanagari, the reverse plain Heeramaneck Collections, Verona, 1984, pl.192.
Painting 9 x 7¬in. (22.8 x 19.5cm.); text panel 10¬ x 7æin. (27 x 19.5cm.); folio
11¬ x 8¬in. (29.5 x 22cm.) Alice Heeramaneck has attributed this fine portrait to a Turkish artist in
70
the Deccan although notes that it is “most unusual and difficult to identify”
£10,000-15,000 US$12,000-17,000 (Masterpieces of Indian Painting from the former Collections of Nasli M.
€12,000-17,000
Heeramaneck, University of Michigan, 1984, p.160). The face is Turkic looking
but also the fine gold brocaded coat with elegant ogival design appears The inscription gives the name Mir Mu'izz al-Mulk. It has been suggested
PROVENANCE:
akin to Ottoman or Safavid textile design. A similar textile in gold and silver that bold vertical inscriptions such as this are sometimes in the hand of the
Bikaner Royal Collection
thread was donated to the shrine of Imam Ali at Najaf by Shah 'Abbas (r. emperor and we find a man of this name who served the Mughal Emperor
Private Collection, USA
1587-1629), a fragment of which is in the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar Akbar. He is depicted in the Akbarnama serving as emissary to the Uzbek
LITERATURE: (illustrated J. Thompson, Silk: 13th to 18th centuries, Doha, 2004, no.9, rebel Bahadur Khan (Victoria & Albert Museum, IS.2:96-1896). Although the
J. Bautze, 'Sirohi-Malerei in der Mitte des 17. Jahrhunderts', Indo-Asiatische
pp.44-45). The red outlines are also a feature which are characteristic of Mu'izz al-Mulk in that painting is less finely dressed than ours, certainly the
Zeitschrift: Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Indo-Asiatische Kunst, vol. 4/5,
Turkish painting traditions, but the turban appears closer to Deccani and facial features are similar and the stubble in our portrait could well give way
Berlin, 2000-2001, pp. 56-71, fig. 8.
early 17th century Safavid examples. The green undergarment, with fine to the beard of Muizz al-Mulk in the Akbarnama illustration. This characterful
H.V. Dehejia, A Festival of Krishna: 'Under The Kadamba Tree': Painting a
gold floral decoration, and similar blue trousers have also been suggested as portrait points towards a contemporaneous painting by somebody who knew
Divine Love, Roli Books Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 2008, p. 195.
J.P. Losty, Rajput paintings from the Ludwig Habighorst Collection, Francesca Turkish (op.cit.) but could well also have Safavid or Mughal origins. Finally, Mu'izz al-Mulk which would support the inscription possibly being done by
Galloway, London, 2019, no. 3. he is clutching a European shaped sword. If anything, what this painting the emperor. In fact the green robe in our painting is also similar to the one
L.V. Habighorst, Der blaue Gott in indischen Miniaturen, Mittelrhein Museum, perhaps highlights is the fluid movement of people and goods in the Islamic worn by the man kneeling beside Bahadur Khan, which might well be his
69
69
Koblenz, 2014, no. 10. world of this period. brother 'Ali Quli Khan.
86 In addition to the hammer price, a Buyer’s Premium (plus VAT) is payable. Other taxes and/or an Artist Resale Royalty 87
fee are also payable if the lot has a tax or λ symbol. Check Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of this catalogue.