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拍品專文
Gauri Ragini has been described as 'with body fair of colour like a champaka flower, she tarries in the garden, confused of mind. In her hand she takes a cluster of wishing-tree flowers. In beauty she is like Urvasi [considered the most beautiful of all the celestial maidens, apsaras]: no companion is with her' (Claus Ebeling, Ragamala Painting, Basel, 1973, p.118). As Glynn notes in her discussion of the painting, 'the heroine echoes this portrayal [..]. She is placed in the midst of the limbs of a tree, a symbol of the fertility myth. The sentiments associated with this melody are sadness and loneliness as the heroine gathers flowers in a forest awaiting the return of her lover' (C. Glynn, R. Skelton, A. L. Dallapiccola, Ragamala, Paintings from India from the Claudio Moscatelli Collection, London, 2011, cat. 1, pp. 40-41).
This important painting appears to have been first published by Hermann Goetz in 1950 in The Art and Architecture of Bikaner State (plate V, p.73). It is there catalogued as dating from the reign of Maharaja Gaj Singhji (1745-87). It appears to be much earlier however and is comparable to a celebrated Bhagavata Purana series painted in Bikaner circa 1690. Although painted over a period of 50 years, about fifteen illustrations painted circa 1690 are comparable in quality and style to the present work. The comments made about them of 'meticulous precision of line, very fine detailing, and a high level of sophistication in the treatment of pictorials elements' would apply to our Gauri Ragini (Terence McInerney with Steven Kossak and Navina Najat-Haidar, Divine Pleasures, Painting from India's rajput Courts, The Kronos Collection, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2016, cat.25, pp.100-101). McInerney notes that like 'all Bikaner paintings of the period, [it] is greatly indebted to Mughal painting' and points to the 'Mughal apple green, the miniaturistic detail and the high finish'. Another illustration from this Bhagavata Purana is published in J.P. Losty, Indian Miniatures from the James Ivory Collection, Francesca Galloway, London, 2010, cat.34, pp.86-87. On both the Kronos Collection painting and the present work the fine rendering of the palace in the background and the stylized trees are particularly close.
However Catheryne Glynn stresses the importance of Deccani features in Bikaner painting of the late 17th century which were transmitted to the Bikaner court by Maharaja Anup Singh (r.1669-98) during his imperial service in the Deccan. Glynn characterises the 'Deccani palette of lighter, more pastel colours, and the use of oranges, mauves and greens in a diffuse manner [..] with an interest in the decorative details of costume and background' (Catheryne Glynn, 'Bijapur Themes in Bikaner Painting', in Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting in Rajasthan, Mumbai, 2000, p.65). This particularly applies to this work. The interest for avian themes - see how many birds and other animals are found in the painting - is another favourite theme of Bikaner artists, inspired by Bijapur works (Glynn, op.cit, p.68). These details are remarkably similar to a Bikaner painting of Animals and Ascetics in a landscape with a 1693 inventory stamp in the Aga Khan museum, Toronto (J.P. Losty and Francesca Galloway, Paintings from the Royal Courts of India, London, 2008, cat.27, p.68). Losty notes that 'despite the naturalism of the animals, this is [..] a very Persian way of producing a landscape that had long been abandoned by Mughal artists but that had also come into Golconda in the middle of the 16th century'.
Although our Gauri Ragini was probably executed in Bikaner, it has been suggested that paintings such as ours might have been produced in Golconda/Hyderabad under Bikaner patronage (Losty, op.cit., p.70). It leaves open a fascinating field for further research. One of the most elegant and fine Rajput paintings produced during the 17th century, the present work illustrates how artists from the Kingdom of Bikaner combined Mughal and Deccani influences to create some of India's most exquisite paintings.
This important painting appears to have been first published by Hermann Goetz in 1950 in The Art and Architecture of Bikaner State (plate V, p.73). It is there catalogued as dating from the reign of Maharaja Gaj Singhji (1745-87). It appears to be much earlier however and is comparable to a celebrated Bhagavata Purana series painted in Bikaner circa 1690. Although painted over a period of 50 years, about fifteen illustrations painted circa 1690 are comparable in quality and style to the present work. The comments made about them of 'meticulous precision of line, very fine detailing, and a high level of sophistication in the treatment of pictorials elements' would apply to our Gauri Ragini (Terence McInerney with Steven Kossak and Navina Najat-Haidar, Divine Pleasures, Painting from India's rajput Courts, The Kronos Collection, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2016, cat.25, pp.100-101). McInerney notes that like 'all Bikaner paintings of the period, [it] is greatly indebted to Mughal painting' and points to the 'Mughal apple green, the miniaturistic detail and the high finish'. Another illustration from this Bhagavata Purana is published in J.P. Losty, Indian Miniatures from the James Ivory Collection, Francesca Galloway, London, 2010, cat.34, pp.86-87. On both the Kronos Collection painting and the present work the fine rendering of the palace in the background and the stylized trees are particularly close.
However Catheryne Glynn stresses the importance of Deccani features in Bikaner painting of the late 17th century which were transmitted to the Bikaner court by Maharaja Anup Singh (r.1669-98) during his imperial service in the Deccan. Glynn characterises the 'Deccani palette of lighter, more pastel colours, and the use of oranges, mauves and greens in a diffuse manner [..] with an interest in the decorative details of costume and background' (Catheryne Glynn, 'Bijapur Themes in Bikaner Painting', in Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting in Rajasthan, Mumbai, 2000, p.65). This particularly applies to this work. The interest for avian themes - see how many birds and other animals are found in the painting - is another favourite theme of Bikaner artists, inspired by Bijapur works (Glynn, op.cit, p.68). These details are remarkably similar to a Bikaner painting of Animals and Ascetics in a landscape with a 1693 inventory stamp in the Aga Khan museum, Toronto (J.P. Losty and Francesca Galloway, Paintings from the Royal Courts of India, London, 2008, cat.27, p.68). Losty notes that 'despite the naturalism of the animals, this is [..] a very Persian way of producing a landscape that had long been abandoned by Mughal artists but that had also come into Golconda in the middle of the 16th century'.
Although our Gauri Ragini was probably executed in Bikaner, it has been suggested that paintings such as ours might have been produced in Golconda/Hyderabad under Bikaner patronage (Losty, op.cit., p.70). It leaves open a fascinating field for further research. One of the most elegant and fine Rajput paintings produced during the 17th century, the present work illustrates how artists from the Kingdom of Bikaner combined Mughal and Deccani influences to create some of India's most exquisite paintings.