WHAT A DREAM OF SCALES FORETELLS
WHAT A DREAM OF SCALES FORETELLS
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INDIAN PAINTINGS FROM THE LUDWIG HABIGHORST COLLECTION
WHAT A DREAM OF SCALES FORETELLS

MEWAR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA, CIRCA 1720

Details
WHAT A DREAM OF SCALES FORETELLS
MEWAR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA, CIRCA 1720
An illustration to the Sakunavali (Book of Omens), opaque pigments heightened with gold and silver on paper, 2ll. black and red devanagari in a yellow box above, with gold border and black rules and set within a red margin, the reverse plain
Painting 8 7/8 x 7in. (22.4 x 17.8cm.); folio 10 1/8 x 8 3/8in. (25.7 x 21.4cm.)

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Lot Essay

Inscriptions:
Arthanashmanirvana virodhavyadhisambhava shokasantayahaanishva tularupamvinirdishotu 33 neshta gaon 4 (keemat 9), 'Loss of wealth; incurring of an incurable illness; sorrow; heartache; loss (from all directions); this is what (a dream of) balance indicates. 33. An inauspicious omen ([In another hand] value 9).'

This painting comes from an extensive, dispersed series of nearly 100 folios that classifies various omens occurring in daily life. These omens range from those most evil to the undesirable, good, excellent and, finally, best of all. The series, unique to Udaipur, is described by Andrew Topsfield who comments that all omens, regardless of their being good or bad, are rendered with equal directness and sensitivity (Court Painting at Udaipur, Zurich, 2001, p.144-5 and fig.117).

A number are now in museum collections such as Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.83.219.2) and published (see Bautze, Indian Miniature Painting, Amsterdam, 1987, no.23). Other examples from the series have sold at Bonhams, London, 6 October 2008, lot 391, and 30 March 2021, lot 67; Christie’s New York, 21 March 2018, lot 344, and in these Rooms, 10 October 2013, lot 196.

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