Lot Essay
This ragamala painting has an attribution on the reverse side giving the name of the artist Rukn al-Din in devanagri. Rukn al-Din was known to have been at the Bikaner court in the late 17th Century. For a further discussion on his style see Steven Kossak, Indian Court Painting, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1997, no. 32 and 33, pp. 64-65. The depiction of the orange and gold horizon and the architectural features in the background of this painting however, is much closer to the style of Ibrahim the son and follower of Rukn al-din. A painting by Ibrahim which sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2012, lot 254 shared these same features.