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Lot Essay
Originally thought to come from the Deccan, this folio comes from a known group which have since been re-attributed as sub-Imperial, or ‘popular,’ Mughal. The series of eighty-six works, which forms the earliest known group illustrating the Ragamala of Kshemakarna, relates stylistically to a number of artists who were released from the atelier of Akbar following Jahangir’s accession but no colophon or signature has allowed for a successful attribution to any particular court or hand (Glynn, Skelton, and Dallapiccola, Ragamala: Paintings from India, London, 2011, p.24).
The poet Kshemakarna, a court priest in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, composed his Sanskrit Ragamala in 1570 which had a profound influence on the painting of Ragamala illustrations. His “Mesakarna” system describes a family of 6 ragas, 31 raginis, and 49 ragaputras (sons) in two series of verses. In the first, each musical mode is described as a personality; in the second, the music of each raga, ragini, and ragaputra is compared to a sound in nature or in the household.
A folio from this series can be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art (2001.112). Further folios have been sold in these Rooms 25 May 2016, lots 1 and 2, and 25 October 2019, lots 169 to 171.