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Lot Essay
In Kshemakarna's classification of the ragamala system, Jalandhara putra (spelt with an additional ‘n’) is the seventh son of Megha Raga. Kshemakarna's verse describes Jalandhara putra as Krishna lifting up Mount Govardhan and compares the music of this raga to the sound of clouds and thunder. This is different to the Pahari tradition where the ragaputra is the eighth son of Megha raga and Jala-dhara translates to a holder or receptacle of water. The iconography of the present painting can be compared to a drawing illustrated in Ebeling, 1973, p.290 where a lady standing beside a man holds a napkin under the jug from which is he is about to take a drink. For another comparable Pahari illustration of Jaladhara from Basohli-Bilaspur, dated to circa 1750, see Waldschmidt, Part 1, 1967, pp.133-134, no.38, fig.32.
This painting is part of a well-known ragamala series from a dispersed album which was once in the Mandi royal collection. Along with ragamala illustrations, the album also included a Dasavatara (Ten Incarnations of Vishnu) series. The original place of production of the album, whether Chamba or Bilaspur, has been debated by scholars. After a recent study of illustrations from the Moscatelli collection, noting a particular style of Chamba turban in some folios, Catherine Glynn attributed the album to the court of Chamba (Glynn, Skelton, Dallapiccola, 2011, p.34). J. P. Losty notes a heavy influence of Mughal and Deccani painting, the prevalence of vertical format ragamalas from Bilaspur, the style of rendering the eyes of figures almost three-dimensionally, amongst other evidence, and argues for Bilaspur as the origin for the album (Losty, 2017, pp.226-227). For further folios from this album, see Losty, op. cit, nos. 60, 62, pp. 228-229; Glynn, Skelton, Dallapiccola, 2011, nos.7-9, pp.52-57; and McInerney, Kossak, Najat-Haidar, 2016, nos. 45-48, pp.142-149.
For folios from this series which have sold in these Rooms, see 25 May 2017, lots 22-23; 26 May 2016, lots 61-62; 25 April 2013, lot 184; Christie’s, South Kensington, 10 June 2013, lots 2-7; Christie’s, New York, 18 September 2013, lot 357A.
This painting is part of a well-known ragamala series from a dispersed album which was once in the Mandi royal collection. Along with ragamala illustrations, the album also included a Dasavatara (Ten Incarnations of Vishnu) series. The original place of production of the album, whether Chamba or Bilaspur, has been debated by scholars. After a recent study of illustrations from the Moscatelli collection, noting a particular style of Chamba turban in some folios, Catherine Glynn attributed the album to the court of Chamba (Glynn, Skelton, Dallapiccola, 2011, p.34). J. P. Losty notes a heavy influence of Mughal and Deccani painting, the prevalence of vertical format ragamalas from Bilaspur, the style of rendering the eyes of figures almost three-dimensionally, amongst other evidence, and argues for Bilaspur as the origin for the album (Losty, 2017, pp.226-227). For further folios from this album, see Losty, op. cit, nos. 60, 62, pp. 228-229; Glynn, Skelton, Dallapiccola, 2011, nos.7-9, pp.52-57; and McInerney, Kossak, Najat-Haidar, 2016, nos. 45-48, pp.142-149.
For folios from this series which have sold in these Rooms, see 25 May 2017, lots 22-23; 26 May 2016, lots 61-62; 25 April 2013, lot 184; Christie’s, South Kensington, 10 June 2013, lots 2-7; Christie’s, New York, 18 September 2013, lot 357A.