A PAINTING OF SNAKES AND LADDERS

NEPAL, 19TH CENTURY

Price realised USD 10,625
Estimate
USD 6,000 – USD 8,000
Estimates do not reflect the final hammer price and do not include buyer's premium, and applicable taxes or artist's resale right. Please see Section D of the Conditions of Sale for full details.
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A PAINTING OF SNAKES AND LADDERS

NEPAL, 19TH CENTURY

Price realised USD 10,625
Price realised USD 10,625
Details
A PAINTING OF SNAKES AND LADDERS
NEPAL, 19TH CENTURY
54 ½ x 35 ¼ in. (138.4 x 89.5 cm)
Provenance
Alfio Nicolosi Collection, Mantova, Italy.
Christie's New York, 2 September 2011, lot 291.
Sale room notice

The correct dimensions for this lot are 54 ½ x 34 ½ in. (138.4 x 89.5 cm)

The medium is natural pigments on cotton, laid on board.


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Jacqueline Dennis Subhash
Jacqueline Dennis Subhash

Lot Essay

The present painting would have been utilized as a board game played with dice. The board represents the progress of life with certain squares denoting good deeds, and others bad deeds, along with the consequences of both actions; the squares at the lower rungs represent states of hell ultimately leading up towards the heavens. The game, often played during the Paryusana festival, was popular amongst Jain nuns who used it as a didactic pastime to impart the notion of karma. Versions were also adapted for Hindus and Muslims; interestingly, and perhaps unusually, this present example includes Buddhist deities.

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