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Lot Essay
The present painting is from a baramasa series illustrating the twelve months of the Hindu calendar, as romanticized by the Braj Bhasa poet Keshavdas. The present scene depicts the month of Jyestha (mid-May through mid-June) when the scorching heat forces the wild elephants, tigers and antelope to seek shelter.
The two lovers pass their summer day by tossing a red ball high between each other. Two cages hung within the palace each contain a pair of song birds, echoing the playful lovers on the terrace. An idyllic landscape of rolling hills, palaces, and wild animals beneath a sweltering sun fills the background.
Compare the present composition to another illustration of Jyestha from the court of Suket, illustrated in W.G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, vol. 2, 1973, p. 335, no. 3i, similarly depicting a couple at play on a terrace with hot, wild animals scattered in the surrounding hillocks.
The two lovers pass their summer day by tossing a red ball high between each other. Two cages hung within the palace each contain a pair of song birds, echoing the playful lovers on the terrace. An idyllic landscape of rolling hills, palaces, and wild animals beneath a sweltering sun fills the background.
Compare the present composition to another illustration of Jyestha from the court of Suket, illustrated in W.G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, vol. 2, 1973, p. 335, no. 3i, similarly depicting a couple at play on a terrace with hot, wild animals scattered in the surrounding hillocks.