INDIA, JAIPUR, LATE 18TH CENTURY

Details

A Jeweled Woman Before a Palace Gateway
India, Jaipur, late 18th Century
The jeweled female seated below an arched doorway with various animals including a peacock, goat, mice, boar, ram, dog, elephant, horse and tiger in attendance within a verdant landscape; surrounded by black rules, yellow and whit dotted border, salmon border with floral scrolls painted in gold, lavender border with red rules and green outer border; framed
Folio: 15¼ x 11¼ in. (38.6 x 28.5 cm.); image: 11¾ x 8½ in. (29.8 x 21.6 cm.)

Provenance

Rudi van Leyden Collection

Lot Essay

A possible interpretation of this scene is that the painting is an elaborate representation of Bangal Ragini from a Ragamala Series, which is traditionally shown as a lady or an ascetic worshipping in the presence of a tamed tiger or leopard. The treatment of jewelry, particularly the pearls, is in the moti mahavar technique which features prominently in Jaipur paintings where thick white dots are laid down on paper in relief.

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