Lot Essay
This large painting depicts a delightfully enthroned Ganesha flanked by Riddhi and Siddhi, goddesses personifying the concepts of prosperity and spirituality. Ganesha sits casually on a divan set in the midst of a palace courtyard and holds an axe and sword in two of his hands, while using his other two hands and his trunk to select treats from one of his consorts. Two rats, the vahana of Ganesha, crouch expectantly behind the women, waiting for their turn to indulge in the sweets.
The painting likely accompanied a large format series as a dedicatory frontispiece. When H. Shastri first published Sajnu’s similarly sized Hamir Hath series, he noted a benedictory painting of Ganesha with Riddhi and Siddhi as the opening image; see lot 457 for a discussion on the series. Compare the present lot with another Pahari frontispiece of Ganesha sold at Christie’s New York, 23 July 2020, lot 12 for $37,500.
The painting likely accompanied a large format series as a dedicatory frontispiece. When H. Shastri first published Sajnu’s similarly sized Hamir Hath series, he noted a benedictory painting of Ganesha with Riddhi and Siddhi as the opening image; see lot 457 for a discussion on the series. Compare the present lot with another Pahari frontispiece of Ganesha sold at Christie’s New York, 23 July 2020, lot 12 for $37,500.