SOHNI CROSSING A RIVER AT NIGHT TO MEET MAHINVAL

DELHI, MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1800

Details

SOHNI CROSSING A RIVER AT NIGHT TO MEET MAHINVAL
DELHI, MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1800
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the scene lit by the full moon, Mahinval sits by a tree playing the flute, buffalo graze around, Sohni crosses a lake with the help of an upturned jar as a float, an elderly dervish watches the scene from the terrace of his hut, laid down on card with gold and polychrome floral margins, identification inscription in black nasta'liq script at top, mounted, framed and glazed
Painting 9 ¾ x 6 ½ni. (24.7 x 16.6cm.); page 14 ¾ x 9 7/8in. (37.5 x 25.2cm.)

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Lot Essay

The tale of Sohni and Mahinval is a folk love story for which few written traces exist. The subject was very popular in 18th century paintings however. Sohni loved Mahinval, a herder of buffalo, who lived on the opposite bank of the river. Every night, she would visit him by crossing the river with the help of a glazed baked jar as a float. Sohni's brothers, strongly disapproving the romance, substituted the glazed jar with and unbaked clay pot. Whilst crossing the river that night, the pot disintegrated and Sohni drowned. The figure of the wise man could be a symbol of dharma (law, duty) which the two lovers violated by their affairs. For a short discussion on this tale and another painting of Sohni and Mahinval, see From the Courts of India: Indian Miniatures in the Collection of the Worcester Art Museum, exhibition catalogue, 1981, pp.34-35.

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