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Lot Essay
This elegant painting presents a lady attending to her toilette, seated on a silver bathing platform surrounded by her possessions. Her neatly rolled saris in green, red, and pink are arranged at her side, yet she remains bedecked in elaborate pearl, ruby, and emerald jewellery, including long-strung necklaces, armbands, earrings, and head ornaments, emphasising her refinement and elevated status.
The composition is set against a distinctive and finely rendered backdrop: a layered triangular mountain range with verdant contours sits beneath a narrow strip of blue sky streaked with delicate, rainbow-tinged clouds. Behind her, lush green vegetation, broad-leaf plants and dense bushes tipped with white, create a sense of enclosed intimacy and visual richness. These elements strongly echo the visual vocabulary found in works produced by the Jodhpur court during the reign of Maharaja Man Singh. For stylistic parallels, see Jalandharnath at Jalore (attributed to Bhatti Amardas, Jodhpur, ca.1805–10, Mehrangarh Museum) and Nath Yogis in a Landscape (Marwar, Jodhpur, ca.1825, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.72.47.9).
However, it is the treatment of the female figure that sets this work apart. Unlike the often-idealised features of nayika figures typically found in Rajput painting, this woman’s face is captured in an unusually naturalistic three-quarter profile. Her features are sharply observed and distinctive, suggesting this may be a true portrait rather than an archetype of feminine beauty. This sensitive rendering, especially in the sculptural modelling of her face, reflects a possible influence of European portraiture (see lots 13-15) and marks a significant departure from conventional Jodhpur court style.
Even more striking is the restrained and refined treatment of her partially unclothed torso. While nudity in nayika depictions is not uncommon, it is rarely treated with such subtlety of line and modelling. The soft shading and minimal contouring suggest an appreciation for anatomical realism more often associated with Europeanised works of the period, indicating a possible hybrid style at play.
Other curious elements abound: her bathing implements are rendered in gleaming gold and exaggerated in scale, almost symbolic rather than functional. The blue-and-white ceramic planters in the foreground feature indistinct patterns, possibly inspired by imported Chinese or Persian wares, while the block-printed textile beneath her echoes traditional Rajasthani designs, anchoring the scene firmly in the region’s decorative traditions.
This composition finds certain parallels with the portrait of Begum Nur Jahan by Amar Das, illustrated in Crill 2000, p.118, no.117), which also blends portraiture with symbolic settings. For additional thematic and stylistic context, see Diamond 2008, p.146, cat.no.32.
The composition is set against a distinctive and finely rendered backdrop: a layered triangular mountain range with verdant contours sits beneath a narrow strip of blue sky streaked with delicate, rainbow-tinged clouds. Behind her, lush green vegetation, broad-leaf plants and dense bushes tipped with white, create a sense of enclosed intimacy and visual richness. These elements strongly echo the visual vocabulary found in works produced by the Jodhpur court during the reign of Maharaja Man Singh. For stylistic parallels, see Jalandharnath at Jalore (attributed to Bhatti Amardas, Jodhpur, ca.1805–10, Mehrangarh Museum) and Nath Yogis in a Landscape (Marwar, Jodhpur, ca.1825, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.72.47.9).
However, it is the treatment of the female figure that sets this work apart. Unlike the often-idealised features of nayika figures typically found in Rajput painting, this woman’s face is captured in an unusually naturalistic three-quarter profile. Her features are sharply observed and distinctive, suggesting this may be a true portrait rather than an archetype of feminine beauty. This sensitive rendering, especially in the sculptural modelling of her face, reflects a possible influence of European portraiture (see lots 13-15) and marks a significant departure from conventional Jodhpur court style.
Even more striking is the restrained and refined treatment of her partially unclothed torso. While nudity in nayika depictions is not uncommon, it is rarely treated with such subtlety of line and modelling. The soft shading and minimal contouring suggest an appreciation for anatomical realism more often associated with Europeanised works of the period, indicating a possible hybrid style at play.
Other curious elements abound: her bathing implements are rendered in gleaming gold and exaggerated in scale, almost symbolic rather than functional. The blue-and-white ceramic planters in the foreground feature indistinct patterns, possibly inspired by imported Chinese or Persian wares, while the block-printed textile beneath her echoes traditional Rajasthani designs, anchoring the scene firmly in the region’s decorative traditions.
This composition finds certain parallels with the portrait of Begum Nur Jahan by Amar Das, illustrated in Crill 2000, p.118, no.117), which also blends portraiture with symbolic settings. For additional thematic and stylistic context, see Diamond 2008, p.146, cat.no.32.