A SAGE OF THE PUSHTIMARG SECT AND SHRI NATHJI
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A SAGE OF THE PUSHTIMARG SECT AND SHRI NATHJI

NATHDWARA, RAJASTHAN, INDIA, CIRCA 1850

Details
A SAGE OF THE PUSHTIMARG SECT AND SHRI NATHJI
NATHDWARA, RAJASTHAN, INDIA, CIRCA 1850
A sage, possibly Vallabhacharya or Vittalnathji dressed in a transparent vest and dhoti, seated on a patterned rug, holding a scripture in his left hand and right hand in vitarka mudra, pages of a scripture on a stand with an inkpot and spouted vessel beside him and lotuses in the foreground, the gold idol of the infant Shri Nathji before him
Opaque pigments and gold on paper
11 ¾ x 8 ¾ in. (30 x 22.2 cm.)
Provenance
Acquired by 1977.
Special notice
Lots which are Art Treasures under the Art and Antiquities Act 1972 cannot be exported outside India. Please note that lots are marked as a convenience to you and we shall not be liable for any errors in, or failure to, mark any lot.

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Lot Essay

Vallabhacharya is the founder of the Pushtimarg, or Path of Grace, a Vaishanava equalitarian sect centred on the life of Lord Krishna as described in tenth book of the BhagavataPurana. Vallabhacharya was born in a Brahmin family of religious scholars in South India in the late 15th century. After his philosophical and religious education he is said to have debated with and defeated scholars and philosophers at the court of Vijayanagara before performing three pilgrimages in India during which he spread the creed of Pushtimarg and experienced an apparition of Shri Nathji, a manifestation of Krishna, at Mount Govardhan.

Many paintings illustrate Vallabhacharya’s vision of the divine infants, three toddlers crawling towards him: the blue-skinned Krishna, a golden-skinned boy who is yet to be born and Balarama, Krishna's elder brother. Vallabha's wife gave birth to two sons: Gopinathji, who was believed to be Krishna's brother Balarama, reborn, and Vittalnathji who was said to be Krishna himself. Vittalnathji eventually succeeded his father. For a related version of this vision see Madhuvanti Ghose (ed.), Gates of the Lord: The Tradition of Krishna Paintings, Chicago, 2015, p.72, no.9, and a painting sold at Christie’s, London, 26 May 2016, lot 34.

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