A painting from a Ragamala series: Dipak Raga

INDIA, MUGHAL PERIOD, CIRCA 1780

Details

A painting from a Ragamala series: Dipak Raga
India, Mughal period, circa 1780
A couple embracing on a bed at night, surrounded by female musicians and attendants, all in a marble pavilion lit by candles in the foreground which cast the shadows of the standing attendants onto the wall behind, a yellow cartouche at top and surrounded by gold-speckled pink, cream and blue borders
Opaque pigments and gold on paper
11½ x 7¼in. (29.3 x 18.5cm.), image
14 x 10 5/8 in. (35.6 x 27 cm.), folio

Provenance

Private collection, London, 2007

Lot Essay

Dipak means lamp or flame, and this raga is a celebration of light. Instead of fire, the artist has chosen to depict the soft warmth of candle-light, heightening the seductive feel of this painting. Another painting of dipak raga from the Doris Wiener Collection, attributed to Bundi and dated 1738, sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2012, lot 260.

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