PAHARI HILLS, NORTH INDIA, LATE 18TH CENTURY

The Gita Govinda, or ‘Song of the Herdsman’, is a lyrical poem by the twelfth-century Indian poet Jayadeva. The work tells the story of the relationship between Radha and Krishna. Filled with erotic imagery and descriptions of divine love, the Gita Govinda, was quickly woven into Vaishnav doctrine throughout India. Divided in to 12 sargos, or cantos, the narrative is filled with visual metaphors and hyperbole likening earthly seduction and divine union.

The epic became a popular subject for artists in North India but the enduring imagery of the Gita Govinda was particularly favoured amongst artists and patrons in the Pahari Hills. Three Gita Govinda series produced in Pahari Hills remain especially notable. The first is a 150 folio series by the master painter Manaku (c. 1700-60) of Guler. Painted circa 1730 in the Basohli style, the series is admired for its rich colours and ornamentation. The second series is the so-called ‘Tehri Garhwal’ series of circa 1775 attributed to a Master of the First Generation after Manaku and Nainsukh. The 140 folio series is celebrated for complex delineations of emotion and expert execution.

The ‘Tehri-Garhwal’ series is believed to have influenced the artist of the third notable series, the so-called ‘Lambagraon’ series. This group of an estimated 48 pages was completed circa 1820 and is attributed to the artist Purkhu of Kangra (active circa 1780-1820). The comparatively small series is widely praised for its lush depictions of nature and sultry eroticism. For a further discussion of Purkhu and his workshop see lot 85 of the current sale.

The present painting follows an illustration from the 1775 ‘Tehri Garhwal’ series. That painting, Number 27 from the series, is titled ‘The enchanting flute player: Krishna plays the flute for a shepherdess’ and is in the collection of the Museum Rietberg, Zürich. A painting to the Gita Govinda also made after another ‘Tehri Garhwal’ illustration was sold in Bonhams, Online, 15-25 March 2022, lot 355. An illustration to ‘Tehri Garhwal’ series was sold at Christie’s, New York, 18 September 2013, lot 366 and an illustration from the ‘Lambgraon’ Gita Govinda was sold in the same rooms 17 March 2021, lot 436.

The painting comes from the former collection of Peter Gaeffke (1927-2005), a German-born Indologist who later taught at the University of Pennsylvania from 1975.