Lot 11
11
AN ILLUSTRATION TO A RAGAMALA SERIES: BHAIRAV RAGA
AN ILLUSTRATION TO A RAGAMALA SERIES: BHAIRAV RAGA

HYDERABAD, DECCAN, CENTRAL INDIA, THIRD QUARTER 18TH CENTURY

Details
AN ILLUSTRATION TO A RAGAMALA SERIES: BHAIRAV RAGA
HYDERABAD, DECCAN, CENTRAL INDIA, THIRD QUARTER 18TH CENTURY
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the lone lady depicted richly attired, kneeling and worshipping at a shivalingam beneath an opened domed pavilion on a river bank, fruit offerings to her sides, the bull Nandi behind, identification inscription in white nasta'liq script above, the reverse with calligraphic panel in elegant nasta'liq script within gilt floral margins, with wide burnt orange borders with elegant scrolling floral garlands
Painting 9½ x 5½in. (24.2 x 14cm.); folio16¼ x 10 3/8in. (41.3 x 26.4cm.)

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Lot Essay

With its calm ambiance of worship at a deserted shrine on a river bank, our illustrated album page captures the essence of Bhairav raga which relates to the earlier times of the day with a mood that is serene or peaceful. Bhairav, or dog, references the companion of Shiva, to whom this musical mode is dedicated, when the deity assumes the form of an ascetic wandering the cremation grounds.

In the Rajasthani tradition Bhairav raga's iconography consists of a seated lord being anointed by his female consort while listening to musicians on a terrace (Klaus Ebeling, Ragamala Painting, Basel, Paris and New Delhi, 1973, no. 187, p. 241).

For another painting of the same series and album, please see lots 8, 9, 10.

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