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Lot Essay
This painting has been carefully thought through to depict the inscription in the panel above. The elephants shake the earth like the thunder at this time of year.
The composition is typical of a number of Bikaner Baramasa series paintings, although the other paintings in the series from which this painting comes do not appear to have been published. A depiction from Bikaner dating from 1720-25 of the month of Jyestha, the month of heat, was in the Stuart Cary Welch Collection (sold Sotheby’s 31 May 2011, lot 17). It showed a lord at the door of a pavilion being greeted by a lady, while a smaller scene above showed the events that are to be found that month. The same compositional structure is found on another painting of the same month attributed to the artist Ustad Muran that is now in the Harvard Art Museums (inv. no. 1995.124). A painting of the month of Karttik of the same date in the Victoria and Albert Museum shows a very similar composition (inv.no. IS.32-1980) while another with a simplified depiction of the month of Magasane has the same basic compositional structure (offered at Christie’s King Street, 13 April 2010, lot 296).
The artist who painted this work created it a generation after those cited above. In this time the style at Bikaner had moved away from the Mughal influence that is so clearly visible in those. The influence of the other Rajput schools can clearly be seen, most obviously in the strong yellow inscription panel above, but also in the immediacy of the depiction and the strength of the colouring. The detailed work in the architecture is beautifully rendered, which remained a Bikaner feature throughout, but the detailing on the trees and the tigers in the background are far closer to those of Kota and Bundi than the earlier works.
Situated at the edge of the Thar desert, Bikaner is renowned for its dry climate. There are years when it hardly rains at all. To have it raining as heavily as it is depicted here is perfect heaven in Bikaner.
The composition is typical of a number of Bikaner Baramasa series paintings, although the other paintings in the series from which this painting comes do not appear to have been published. A depiction from Bikaner dating from 1720-25 of the month of Jyestha, the month of heat, was in the Stuart Cary Welch Collection (sold Sotheby’s 31 May 2011, lot 17). It showed a lord at the door of a pavilion being greeted by a lady, while a smaller scene above showed the events that are to be found that month. The same compositional structure is found on another painting of the same month attributed to the artist Ustad Muran that is now in the Harvard Art Museums (inv. no. 1995.124). A painting of the month of Karttik of the same date in the Victoria and Albert Museum shows a very similar composition (inv.no. IS.32-1980) while another with a simplified depiction of the month of Magasane has the same basic compositional structure (offered at Christie’s King Street, 13 April 2010, lot 296).
The artist who painted this work created it a generation after those cited above. In this time the style at Bikaner had moved away from the Mughal influence that is so clearly visible in those. The influence of the other Rajput schools can clearly be seen, most obviously in the strong yellow inscription panel above, but also in the immediacy of the depiction and the strength of the colouring. The detailed work in the architecture is beautifully rendered, which remained a Bikaner feature throughout, but the detailing on the trees and the tigers in the background are far closer to those of Kota and Bundi than the earlier works.
Situated at the edge of the Thar desert, Bikaner is renowned for its dry climate. There are years when it hardly rains at all. To have it raining as heavily as it is depicted here is perfect heaven in Bikaner.