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Lot Essay
Two lovers, here represented by Radha and Krishna, embrace one another in bed, staring intently into each other’s eyes. The nayaka (hero) holds a bow and arrow to silence a peacock on the roof which is disrupting the precious time with his nayika (heroine). More usually in the Vibhasa Ragini the peacock is intended to be a crowing cock in the early morning (Klaus Ebeling, Ragamala Painting, Basel, 1973, p.132), but the peacock is likely included due to its romantic associations. The bow and arrow, made up of flowers, is iconography related to the Hindu god Kamdeva, the god of love and desire.
The present lot belongs to a manuscript of which this is one of 250 illustrations created for Maharani Ranawatji, the Mewari wife of Maharao Goman Singh of Kota (r.1764-71). The set was painted at Nandgaon in Kota State by Dalu, son of Ram Kishen. The majority of the manuscript is in the Saraswati Bhandar Museum, Udaipur, and folios 3 and 249 are dated 1766 and 1768 respectively. The figures, compositions and polished red borders align closely with Bundi painting and it is possible that Dalu may have been one of several artists to have suffered from the decline of painting in Bundi around this period (M.C. Beach, Rajput Painting at Bundi and Kota, Ascona, 1974, p.39 and fig.42). Another folio from the series is in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (EA1958.148). A Vibhasa Ragini with almost identical composition but from late 17th century Mewar was sold in these Rooms, 26 May 2016.
The present lot belongs to a manuscript of which this is one of 250 illustrations created for Maharani Ranawatji, the Mewari wife of Maharao Goman Singh of Kota (r.1764-71). The set was painted at Nandgaon in Kota State by Dalu, son of Ram Kishen. The majority of the manuscript is in the Saraswati Bhandar Museum, Udaipur, and folios 3 and 249 are dated 1766 and 1768 respectively. The figures, compositions and polished red borders align closely with Bundi painting and it is possible that Dalu may have been one of several artists to have suffered from the decline of painting in Bundi around this period (M.C. Beach, Rajput Painting at Bundi and Kota, Ascona, 1974, p.39 and fig.42). Another folio from the series is in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (EA1958.148). A Vibhasa Ragini with almost identical composition but from late 17th century Mewar was sold in these Rooms, 26 May 2016.