- 274
The Adoration of Rama and Sita, Pahari, Kangra or Mandi, circa 1830-40
Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- gouache with gold on paper
gouache with gold on paper, floral borders and spandrels on gold and blue ground, outer pink border
Condition
In good overall condition, one area with small patches of loss and retouching at upper middle right, some flaking in border spandrels, particularly to the white areas, silver platform below dais slightly oxidised, small faces in upper section retouched, otherwise gold bright and colours vivid, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
This monumental painting of the Adoration of Rama and Sita is one of the most remarkable of late Pahari paintings. As well as its dramatic size, it is a very elaborate composition and is executed with great skill and extremely fine detail. It was probably executed as a private commission by a patron, perhaps to mark the occasion of the coronation of a prince. Its iconic rather than narrative theme depicts Rama and Sita enthroned, adored by gods, semi-divine beings, such as gandharvas and kinnaras, ascetics and mortals.
Dressed in contemporary Rajput attire, Rama with his bow and arrow and Sita with a lotus, sit on a raised dais beneath a golden canopy. Rama is crowned and nimbate, indicating his royal and divine status as the seventh incarnation of Vishnu. Before the royal couple stands a priest who anoints Rama with the milk of a coconut. Gods look down upon the couple from billowing white clouds and women from the upper storeys of the palace. On the right of the terrace are the soldiers of Sugriva's monkey army who helped in the battle to recover Sita from the demon Ravana. Hanuman himself stands with proud demeanour in the centre of the picture, holding his golden mace. Outside the gates of the palace, in the style of Mughal paintings, royal visitors arriving by horse and elephant are admitted to the coronation ceremony with a trumpet fanfare.
The painting succeeds in being both monumental and exquisitely detailed. Note in particular the fine fur of the monkeys, the shading in the foliage and the ascetic's garb of forest leaves. There are numerous delicate details, such as the white flower petals fluttering down from the gods in the clouds above, and the artist has depicted several faces looking directly out of the picture at the viewer. The use of colour is intentionally restrained, the subdued palette consisting of varying hues of brown, cream, green and a limited use of gold. The only strong colours are bright saffron yellow - a costly paint derived from cows fed on mangos - and the cobalt blue ground from lapis lazuli used in the decoration of the spandrels. The artist's mature use of colour allows the painting to be offset by a more striking border without the painting becoming too ornate. Compositionally the maturity of the artist is also evident, with the scene divided into three registers, the royal pavilion spanning the upper and middle sections.
The painting is in the manner of a formal state portrait. Such hieratic scenes of adoration were popular in Kangra but usually with Shiva and Parvati as the subjects. The present painting, in which the divine couple is replaced by Rama and Sita, is much rarer, and only one other large-scale published example of such a scene in Kangra painting is known (see Pal 1990, p.102).
Dressed in contemporary Rajput attire, Rama with his bow and arrow and Sita with a lotus, sit on a raised dais beneath a golden canopy. Rama is crowned and nimbate, indicating his royal and divine status as the seventh incarnation of Vishnu. Before the royal couple stands a priest who anoints Rama with the milk of a coconut. Gods look down upon the couple from billowing white clouds and women from the upper storeys of the palace. On the right of the terrace are the soldiers of Sugriva's monkey army who helped in the battle to recover Sita from the demon Ravana. Hanuman himself stands with proud demeanour in the centre of the picture, holding his golden mace. Outside the gates of the palace, in the style of Mughal paintings, royal visitors arriving by horse and elephant are admitted to the coronation ceremony with a trumpet fanfare.
The painting succeeds in being both monumental and exquisitely detailed. Note in particular the fine fur of the monkeys, the shading in the foliage and the ascetic's garb of forest leaves. There are numerous delicate details, such as the white flower petals fluttering down from the gods in the clouds above, and the artist has depicted several faces looking directly out of the picture at the viewer. The use of colour is intentionally restrained, the subdued palette consisting of varying hues of brown, cream, green and a limited use of gold. The only strong colours are bright saffron yellow - a costly paint derived from cows fed on mangos - and the cobalt blue ground from lapis lazuli used in the decoration of the spandrels. The artist's mature use of colour allows the painting to be offset by a more striking border without the painting becoming too ornate. Compositionally the maturity of the artist is also evident, with the scene divided into three registers, the royal pavilion spanning the upper and middle sections.
The painting is in the manner of a formal state portrait. Such hieratic scenes of adoration were popular in Kangra but usually with Shiva and Parvati as the subjects. The present painting, in which the divine couple is replaced by Rama and Sita, is much rarer, and only one other large-scale published example of such a scene in Kangra painting is known (see Pal 1990, p.102).