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Lot Essay
This rare and intimate painting, attributed to Amardas Bhatti, depicts a nayika (heroine) preparing herself at her toilette. Standing semi-nude on a white marble terrace, she is attended by a maid who approaches with a golden tray holding two blue glass wine cups. Both women are minimally draped in fine muslin edged with gold, and the nayika is adorned with strands of pearls, emeralds, and rubies.
The mood is evocatively described in the Devanagari inscription on the verso: “A maiden in her bloom, half-clad, her tresses loosened in fleeting abandon.”
The focus of the composition is wholly on the two female figures. Vegetation is entirely absent, a striking and atypical choice for Jodhpur painting, particularly under Maharaja Man Singh’s reign. Instead, a pale green wash subtly contrasts the white marble terrace, enhancing the sculptural quality of the women’s bodies and heightening the atmosphere of private ritual.
The heroine’s facial features, elongated lotus-shaped eyes, gently swelling jaw, and a slight upward turn of the lips, are characteristic of Amardas Bhatti's hand. Her profile is softened with a hint of facial hair, a subtle detail that adds to the realism and vulnerability of the moment. Another painting signed Amardas Bhatti dated 1827 of an identical mirrored composition was held in the late Sangram Singh Collection (see Crill 2000, p.117, fig.116).
The environment is intentionally sparse, emphasizing emotional seclusion and introspective sensuality, as the nayika prepares herself, possibly for an anticipated romantic encounter.
Amardas Bhatti is best know for his grand and visually intense settings like The Coronation of Maharaja Man Singh, circa 1804 from Mehrangarh Museum Trust (see Diamond and Glynn 2008, pp.142–143, cat.no.31). Also compare with the playful scene of Jalandharnath flies over King Padam’s palace, 1830 from the Suraj Prakash, Mehrangarh Museum Trust (RJS 1644) which demonstrates his narrative style and capacity for dynamic, mythological themes.
The most compelling comparison showing similar facial characteristics of elongated, heavy-lidded eyes; angular profiles; small, slightly upturned pursed lips is scene or Farhad Kills Himself After Hearing the False News of Shirin’s Death in the Cleveland Museum of Art (2018.198).
This painting is a rare and finely rendered example of female introspection and sensuality within the Jodhpur court tradition. The subdued colour palette, sparse setting, and careful modelling of form are all hallmarks of Amardas Bhatti’s mature style, while the inscriptions on the reverse lend rare documentary evidence for attribution and dating.
While the artist is best known for grand ceremonial and mythological compositions, works such as the present lot, focused on private moments, feminine ritual, and emotional nuance, are exceptional in both subject matter and emotional depth. It stands as a unique testimony to Amardas Bhatti's range, sensitivity, and technical brilliance within the rich artistic tradition of early 19th-century Jodhpur.
The mood is evocatively described in the Devanagari inscription on the verso: “A maiden in her bloom, half-clad, her tresses loosened in fleeting abandon.”
The focus of the composition is wholly on the two female figures. Vegetation is entirely absent, a striking and atypical choice for Jodhpur painting, particularly under Maharaja Man Singh’s reign. Instead, a pale green wash subtly contrasts the white marble terrace, enhancing the sculptural quality of the women’s bodies and heightening the atmosphere of private ritual.
The heroine’s facial features, elongated lotus-shaped eyes, gently swelling jaw, and a slight upward turn of the lips, are characteristic of Amardas Bhatti's hand. Her profile is softened with a hint of facial hair, a subtle detail that adds to the realism and vulnerability of the moment. Another painting signed Amardas Bhatti dated 1827 of an identical mirrored composition was held in the late Sangram Singh Collection (see Crill 2000, p.117, fig.116).
The environment is intentionally sparse, emphasizing emotional seclusion and introspective sensuality, as the nayika prepares herself, possibly for an anticipated romantic encounter.
Amardas Bhatti is best know for his grand and visually intense settings like The Coronation of Maharaja Man Singh, circa 1804 from Mehrangarh Museum Trust (see Diamond and Glynn 2008, pp.142–143, cat.no.31). Also compare with the playful scene of Jalandharnath flies over King Padam’s palace, 1830 from the Suraj Prakash, Mehrangarh Museum Trust (RJS 1644) which demonstrates his narrative style and capacity for dynamic, mythological themes.
The most compelling comparison showing similar facial characteristics of elongated, heavy-lidded eyes; angular profiles; small, slightly upturned pursed lips is scene or Farhad Kills Himself After Hearing the False News of Shirin’s Death in the Cleveland Museum of Art (2018.198).
This painting is a rare and finely rendered example of female introspection and sensuality within the Jodhpur court tradition. The subdued colour palette, sparse setting, and careful modelling of form are all hallmarks of Amardas Bhatti’s mature style, while the inscriptions on the reverse lend rare documentary evidence for attribution and dating.
While the artist is best known for grand ceremonial and mythological compositions, works such as the present lot, focused on private moments, feminine ritual, and emotional nuance, are exceptional in both subject matter and emotional depth. It stands as a unique testimony to Amardas Bhatti's range, sensitivity, and technical brilliance within the rich artistic tradition of early 19th-century Jodhpur.