.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
A yogi seated beneath a fig tree accepts the gift of a golden dish from a young man, bowing slightly in supplication. He is sat beside a fire and holds a stick in one hand, his small white dog off to the side barking and snarling furiously at the visitor. From the brown coat with collar of cloth strips, horn tied around his neck, a turban of patchwork cloth and the large wooden earrings it would seem that the yogi belongs to the Nath sect, which originated in the Deccan. His body is smeared with ash turning it a bluey grey.
The subject of this painting marks it as a rare and important work which is something of a mystery (J.P. Losty, Indian Paintings from the Ludwig Habighorst Collection, Francesca Galloway, London, 2018, p.86). The Hindu ascetic here is being visited by a Muslim, suggested by the way in which his red jama is tied, who is presumably of some status given his fine outfit and gold-hilted dagger. The subject of yogis and ascetics a popular one during the late Akbari period and particularly into the reign of the Emperor Jahangir.
The landscape in which this scene unfolds is perhaps surprisingly simple given the care that has gone into the figures and the tree. A stream flows in the foreground with a wading bird rather sketchily painted to the left. An area of grass with flowers and bounded by rock forms the centre of the composition behind which we see a crop of trees and the yellow evening sky. This simplicity is indicative of if not being an imperial product. Nonetheless, the fine rendering of the faces – almost appearing to be portraits – of the two characters and their clothing suggests the work of a Mughal artist. J.P. Losty further suggests it to be an artist working in the provinces, perhaps the Bikaner court in whose palace library painting remained (Losty, op.cit., p.86).
The subject of this painting marks it as a rare and important work which is something of a mystery (J.P. Losty, Indian Paintings from the Ludwig Habighorst Collection, Francesca Galloway, London, 2018, p.86). The Hindu ascetic here is being visited by a Muslim, suggested by the way in which his red jama is tied, who is presumably of some status given his fine outfit and gold-hilted dagger. The subject of yogis and ascetics a popular one during the late Akbari period and particularly into the reign of the Emperor Jahangir.
The landscape in which this scene unfolds is perhaps surprisingly simple given the care that has gone into the figures and the tree. A stream flows in the foreground with a wading bird rather sketchily painted to the left. An area of grass with flowers and bounded by rock forms the centre of the composition behind which we see a crop of trees and the yellow evening sky. This simplicity is indicative of if not being an imperial product. Nonetheless, the fine rendering of the faces – almost appearing to be portraits – of the two characters and their clothing suggests the work of a Mughal artist. J.P. Losty further suggests it to be an artist working in the provinces, perhaps the Bikaner court in whose palace library painting remained (Losty, op.cit., p.86).