Lot Essay
Ustad Qasim was probably part of the third generation after the famous Umarani Usta painter Rukn al-Din. This dynasty of painters flourished in Bikaner for many generations. Unusually for Rajput painting many of the works by members of this dynasty are attributed to individual artists and dated. For a discussion on Rukn al-Din and the following generations of the Umarani Usta line of painters see Andrew Topsfield (ed.), Court Painting in Rajasthan, Mumbai, 2000, pp.61-63. For an unsigned painting from the same Rasikapriya series see Pramod Chandra, Indian Art Treasures: Suresh Neotia Collection, Varanasi 2006, fig. 104, p. 149.