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AN INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTING FROM A RAGAMALA SERIES DEPICTING THE DESAKH RAGINI, JAIPUR, LATE 18TH TO EARLY 19TH CENTURY
Lot 219 - FAS0425
India, Rajasthan. Opaque pigments, gouache, and gold paint on paper. Intricately painted with a female athlete in male sporting attire grasping a golden pillar in an upside-down position. She is strong and not hampered by modesty, her clothes lie in a heap to one side. Two male athletes in the foreground seem to be similarly employed in athletic pursuits.
Provenance: Swiss trade. Acquired from a private estate.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and minuscule flaking to pigment to the left corner.
Dimensions: Size 17.7 x 12.7 cm
Ragamala paintings are inspired by a genre of poetry that assigned a specific form, mood and ambience to various musical modes. The paintings employ human characters to personify the ragas, and along with various props and architectural compositions, convey the emotional state of the corresponding music and its poetic symbolism. These illustrations therefore form a bridge between music, poetry and painting. This particular ragamala depicts pursuits of althletic prowess and strength to test their agility and stamina by lifting weights and climbing a column, set against a training ground in a receding landscape.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Jaipur School painting of a Desakh Ragini, dated c. 1800, in the University of Michigan Museum of Art, accession number 1981/2.44. Compare a closely related Jaipur School painting of a Desakh Ragini, dated to the late 19th century, in the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP), Bengaluru.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, 18 November 2013, lot 115
Price: EUR 13,125 or approx. EUR 16,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Indian miniature: Desakh Ragini, India, Rajasthan, 18th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject with similar female athlete hanging upside-down from a column. Note the size (24 x 15.5 cm) and the slightly earlier dating.
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