Lot 230
  • 230

Kanphat Yogi with Acolyte and Dog

Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 USD
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Description

  • Kanphat Yogi with Acolyte and Dog
  • Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
  • image 6 by 3 1/4 in. (15.2 by 8.3 cm)
  • foilio 10 by 6 7/8 in. (25.4 by 17.5 cm) unframed
The the scantily clad ascetic is shown with the sum of his worldly possessions; his drinking flask and bowl slung over his arm, his tobacco pouch at his waist and his begging bowl in his hands. His hair is mostly shaved leaving a top knot at the apex of his head and his ears are adorned with flat, wide earrings. He is accompanied by a companion and a dog.

Provenance

Sotheby's New York, March 27, 1991, lot 89
Carter Burden Collection

Catalogue Note

The Kanphats (lit. split ear) are a sect of Shaivite yogis devoted to the legend of Gorakhnath. They are distinguished by their large, flat earrings made of metal or horn, giving them extended earlobes. The subject was depicted repeatedly by Mughal draughtsmen in the 16th and 17th centuries, see Toby Falk and Mildred Archer, Indian Miniatures in the India Office Library, London, 1981, nos. 25, 26, 45.