MANDI OR KANGRA, PUNJAB HILLS, NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1820-30

Details

KRISHNA WITH PRADYUMNA AND RUKMANI IN A PALACE INTERIOR
MANDI OR KANGRA, PUNJAB HILLS, NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1820-30
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, Krishna seated with his son Pradyumna and other noblemen, his consort Rukmani seated on a terrace above with her attendants, entertained by musicians in a palace interior, in narrow blue margins, in red speckled pink borders, an inscription in black devanagari to the reverse describing the scene, the fly leaf with numbered Mandi royal collection stamp
12 x 15 3/8in. (30.5 x 39cm.)

Provenance

Mandi Royal Collection

Lot Essay

This painting is an illustration from the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana which deals with the life of Krishna. Krishna is depicted in conversation with his son Pradyumna who sits before him with folded hands. The scene is set in Krishna’s resplendent golden palace in Dwarka. Pradyumna was the son of Krishna and Rukmani and is often depicted in Pahari painting as a constant companion of Krishna. The most well-known episode is of Pradyumna battling the demon Nikumbha alongside Krishna and Arjuna. For a larger Kangra painting from the same period and of comparable composition to the present work, depicting celebrations at the birth of Pradyumna in the palace at Dwarka, see Christie’s, London, 15 October 2002, lot 181.

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