Lot 52

THE PROPERTY OF THE LATE ANTHONY HOBSON (LOTS 52 - 63) A youthful prodigy in his field (appointed Head of Sotheby’s Book Department when he was only 27) Anthony Hobson, who died last year at the age of 92, was the greatest expert in the world on Renaissance bookbinding. Academic honours were showered upon him throughout his career, but his preeminence in the book world was sealed by his presidency of the Internationale de Bibliophilie (1985-1999), where his patrician elegance, considerable charm, command of languages and profound scholarship made him a magisterial figure. An all-round bibliophile of great distinction, he was also an ardent and lifelong collector of art and furniture. While the Renaissance values of order and beauty were cornerstones of his aesthetic–his Old Master drawings, for instance, stand as a shorthand for the whole notion of the Grand Tour–the question of which art one could best live with was of almost equal interest: never the crushing centerpiece that drains the soul out of a room, always the brilliant pieces that set the stage, flaring into life or receding into the background as needs be. Greatly informed by the taste of his wife, Tanya Vinogradoff, granddaughter of the painter Algernon Newton, R.A., his collection ranged with confidence and delight across periods and registers, endlessly curious– and endlessly increasing. Medieval Persian, Neoclassical, 18th Century Indian, Regency, Pre-Raphaelite–individual delights became part of a much larger whole in the beautiful Queen Anne house he lived in for the last 55 years of his life. This sale and the others at Christie’s this summer are testament to an exceptional life of the mind and senses led by the man singled out by Cyril Connolly as among the most ‘impressive scholar aesthetes of our day.' WH. FIVE PAINTINGS FROM THE BHAGAVATA PURANA The five paintings from the Bhagavata Purana offered in this sale (lots 52-56) are from a set of paintings recognized as a ‘key work’ by scholars in the field, also called the ‘large Basohli-Guler Bhagavata Purana series’ or the ‘Fifth Basohli Bhagavata Purana series of 1760-1765’. In her discussion of four paintings from the same set in the Chester Beatty Library, Linda York Leach explains: '[they demonstrate] changes that occurred in traditional hill painting during the eighteenth century. [It] is one of the richest sources of information’ for our knowledge of Pahari paintings (Linda York Leach, Mughal and Other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Library, vol.II, 1995, p.1048). B.N. Goswamy and Eberhard Fischer note that the series is 'often ascribed to Manaku’s eldest son Fattu, who probably lived in Basohli with Manaku’s brother Nainsukh, possibly with one of his own sons also participating in the work’ (Milo C. Beach, Eberhard Fischer, B.N. Goswamy ed., Masters of Indian Painting 1650-1900, London, 2011, p.689). In their discussion they note the series’s ‘strong dependence on Manaku’s work but painted also with awareness of Nainsukh’s achievements. The majority of this set was sold at Sotheby’s, London in February 1960. The present five paintings were offered as lot 2 and lot 53. The series is attributed to various hands from the Pandit Seu family of painters. Pandit Seu’s eldest son Manaku had already worked on a Gita Govinda series in the 1730s and his style is still identifiable on some paintings (see for instance cat.11.50 in Leach, op.cit., p.1052). However Goswamy and Fisher note that ‘it remains difficult to attribute to any one among the painters of the first generation after Manaku and Nainsukh a specific series of, or even individual, works ‘(Goswamy, and Fisher, op.cit., p.697). It is here possible to refer as a ‘family style’ which can be recognized. Fattu was probably taught by his father Manaku but started incorporating elements from his uncle Nainsukh’s style with whom he probably resided. The geographic provenance of these paintings have been debated – Basohli was originally suggested – but it seems more appropriate to link them to a group of painters than to a specific place in the Pahari region.

AN ILLUSTRATION TO THE BHAGAVATA PURANA: JAMBAVAN GIVES THE SYAMANTAKA JEWEL TO HIS DAUGHTER TO PLAY

BASOHLI-GULER STYLE, INDIA, CIRCA 1760-65

Details

AN ILLUSTRATION TO THE BHAGAVATA PURANA: JAMBAVAN GIVES THE SYAMANTAKA JEWEL TO HIS DAUGHTER TO PLAY
BASOHLI-GULER STYLE, INDIA, CIRCA 1760-65
Opaque pigments and gold on paper, the Bear King Jambavan returns to his cave where an old woman tends his son in a cradle, he ties the Syamantaka jewel above the cradle, the cave within a bold rocky mountain, trees in the background, with red borders and black rules, the reverse with 2ll. of black and red devanagari and 2ll. of takri, with protective fly-leaf
Painting 11 1/8 x 15in. (28.3 x 38.2cm.); 12 ¼ x 16 ¼in. (31.1 x 41.3cm.) overall

Provenance

The Estate of Mrs F.K. Smith, Sotheby's, London, 3 February 1960, lot 53

Brought to you by

Romain Pingannaud

rpingannaud@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7752 3233

Lot Essay

The Chester Beatty Library keeps the painting illustrating the immediately following scene of Krishna in Jambavan’s cave (inv. 68.15). In her discussion of the painting, Leach indicates that the artist who painted it was ‘more familiar with the 18th century Mughal style and was a progressive personality’ (Leach, op.cit, cat.11.51, pp.1052-1053). Leach also notes on the present story: ‘the possession of the Syamantaka jewel was a source of contention and the gem changed hand several times. Jambavan had killed a lion to obtain the jewel as depicted on lot 53 which was painted by the same artist. The bear king was traced by Krishna to his cave after which the two fought for 21 days before Jambavan submitted. He subsequently marries his daughter to Krishna.

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