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Lot Essay
The Rasamanjari series to which this miniature belongs is among the earliest and undoubtedly the finest of Pahari painting. Its individual paintings are renowned for their singular intensity. Through strong colour and the juxtaposition of plain ground and fine detail, the actions of the fleeting moment are transformed into powerful iconic images. This combination of strength and subtlety is such that B. N. Goswamy and Eberhard Fischer describe them as "among the most brilliant in the entire range of Indian painting" (B. N. Goswamy and Eberhard Fischer, Pahari Masters exhib., Rietburg Museum, Zurich, 1990, p.30).
The Rasamanjari ("Posy of Delights") was written by Bhanu Datta in Bihar in the fifteenth century. It is a catalogue of the nayikas (heroines) of literature. It is also a handbook of the different emotional moods, and as such was useful to Indian rulers who, often having several wives, would sometimes have to resolve complex situations. Many of the images in this version, including the present one, show Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu) as the male lover. This appears to reflect the Vaishnavite inclination of Raja Sangram Pal (d. circa 1673), the likely patron.
In these paintings, we often see architectural features which separate external from internal space, that is, the public from the private sphere. Closest in form to the pavilion in the present painting is one in the Dogra Art Gallery, Jammu, which has the male and female lovers within a white arch decorated with silver arabesque in an almost identical fashion (B. N. Goswamy and Eberhard Fischer, op. cit., 1990, cat.15, p.49).
From an original total of around 135 folios about 80 survive. The largest group is in the Dogra Art Gallery, Jammu. Others are in the Sri Pratap Singh Musuem in Srinagar, the Rothenstein Collection, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Two leaves, formerly of the Bachofen von Echt Collection, were sold at Sotheby's 29 April 1992, lots 7 and 8. An interesting feature of the series is the variance of colour in the borders. Unlike in later series, where they would be of a uniform colour, the borders of these miniatures could be red, orange or yellow.
Further reading
W.G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, London, 1973
W. G. Archer, Indische Miniaturen, Recklinghausen, 1960
B. Gray, ed. The Arts of India, Oxford, 1981, p.173
L.Y. Leach, Indian miniature paintings and drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogue of Oriental art, Part I, Cleveland, 1986
M.S. Randhawa and S. D. Bhambri, "Basholi paintings of Bhanudattas's Rasamanjari' Roopa Lekha, XXXVI, 1-2, 1967, pp.1-124
The Rasamanjari ("Posy of Delights") was written by Bhanu Datta in Bihar in the fifteenth century. It is a catalogue of the nayikas (heroines) of literature. It is also a handbook of the different emotional moods, and as such was useful to Indian rulers who, often having several wives, would sometimes have to resolve complex situations. Many of the images in this version, including the present one, show Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu) as the male lover. This appears to reflect the Vaishnavite inclination of Raja Sangram Pal (d. circa 1673), the likely patron.
In these paintings, we often see architectural features which separate external from internal space, that is, the public from the private sphere. Closest in form to the pavilion in the present painting is one in the Dogra Art Gallery, Jammu, which has the male and female lovers within a white arch decorated with silver arabesque in an almost identical fashion (B. N. Goswamy and Eberhard Fischer, op. cit., 1990, cat.15, p.49).
From an original total of around 135 folios about 80 survive. The largest group is in the Dogra Art Gallery, Jammu. Others are in the Sri Pratap Singh Musuem in Srinagar, the Rothenstein Collection, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Two leaves, formerly of the Bachofen von Echt Collection, were sold at Sotheby's 29 April 1992, lots 7 and 8. An interesting feature of the series is the variance of colour in the borders. Unlike in later series, where they would be of a uniform colour, the borders of these miniatures could be red, orange or yellow.
Further reading
W.G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, London, 1973
W. G. Archer, Indische Miniaturen, Recklinghausen, 1960
B. Gray, ed. The Arts of India, Oxford, 1981, p.173
L.Y. Leach, Indian miniature paintings and drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogue of Oriental art, Part I, Cleveland, 1986
M.S. Randhawa and S. D. Bhambri, "Basholi paintings of Bhanudattas's Rasamanjari' Roopa Lekha, XXXVI, 1-2, 1967, pp.1-124