AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A RASIKAPRIYA SERIES: A RECLINING NAYIKA

KANGRA, NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1830-50

Details

AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A RASIKAPRIYA SERIES: A RECLINING NAYIKA
KANGRA, NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1830-50
Opaque pigments on paper heightened with gold, intricately dressed, warned by her maid that a prince is at her door, a water-lily pond and a hilly landscape in the background, in floral margins, with red rules, one line of red devanagari script above and five lines of black devanagari script on the reverse, a fly leaf attached with empty yellow frame with black rules, old inventory number in pencil, mounted
Painting 6 ½ x 8 5/8in. (16.6 x 22.2cm.); leaf 8 5/8 x 11 ½in. (22.2 x 29cm.)

Lot Essay

The heroines or nayikas appearing in Rasikapriya series fall within four original categories (padmini, citrini, sankhini and hastini). They are distinguished further according to whom they love and their age or experience, such as mughda (artless), madhya (adolescent) and praudha (experienced or mature). Our heroine whose lord has returned would not fall within those previous types of nayikas. Dr. M.S Randhawa notes that some scholars admit three additional categories, one of which fits our heroine : the nayika whose husband had just returned and comes immediately to seek her (Randhawa, M. S, Kangra Paintings on Love, New Delhi, 1962, p. 64).

The Hindi inscription in red ink translates as 'the mature heroine whose lord had just come back' and is numbered '168'.

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