AN ILLUSTRATION TO THE SURSAGAR OF SURDAS

INDIA, RAJASTHAN, MEWAR, CIRCA 1660

Details

AN ILLUSTRATION TO THE SURSAGAR OF SURDAS
INDIA, RAJASTHAN, MEWAR, CIRCA 1660
Kamadev the God of love aims his flower-tipped arrow at a lady seated on a raised dais inside a covered pavilion with an alarmed female attendant, below mounted warriors engage in battle, the blind poet Surdas is depicted in a chamber in the lower right-hand corner, with peacocks, swirling rain clouds and lightning setting the passionate atmosphere, yellow header above with inscription in devanagari
Opaque pigments on wasli heightened with gold
10¾ x 8¼ in. (27.3 x 20.9 cm.)

Provenance

Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, late 1960s

Lot Essay

This painting is unusual for its representation of the author of this work of devotion- the blind saint Surdas. He is easily identifiable by his closed eyes and serene pose leaning on his crutch. The Sursagar composed in the western Indian vernacular Bhraj Bhasha, an early dialect of Hindi, which as a result was widely accessible to the majority of the population. The eloquence of Surdas' verses ensured that Bhraj Bhasha and its successor Hindi gained regard as a literary language where previously Persian and Sanskrit had ruled almost supreme.

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