The Himalayan journey of the five sages, illustration from a Kedara Kalpa series, attributed to Purkhu of Kangra or his family workshop, Kangra, circa 1800-25

gouache heightened with gold on paper, numbered '22' above on the recto and inscribed on the original cover paper in devanagari script

Acquired before 1969

In good overall condition, colours vivid and gold bright, as viewed.
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In this large and wondrous painting, five Shaivite siddhas (ascetics or sages) are depicted on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas. The high number in the series, '22' (inscribed on the reverse), would indicate that they are approaching the end of their quest to the abode of Siva in the holy mountain region of Kedara-Kailasa, where they worship a Siva lingam in a golden temple.

The painting is highly accomplished, with the use of large areas of white and gold to create a sense of spiritual purity, offset by the rich colours of the costumes and the bands of green trees. The whole composition is intricately detailed and the combination of bold compositional elements and rich details is superbly handled. The icy river and snowy mountains are, appropriately, coloured white, but the artist has dropped a string of jewel-like pebbles, coloured orange, pink and green, along the bank of the river to enliven that part of the composition and demarcate the river from the mountains. The intense tangle of snowy mountainous rocks in the foreground is a tour de force in itself.

Dr. B.N. Goswamy has attributed this series to the family workshop of Purkhu of Kangra, first quarter of the nineteenth century, see Goswamy and Bhatia 1999, p.280-1, no.216, where he also identifies this page as from the Kedara Kalpa, an uncommon text concerning Siva, the Himalayan regions connected with him and the delights and tribulations experienced on their journey by the five sages. The most detailed discussion of this series is by Darielle Mason in Philadelphia 2001, pp.200-1, no.86, who suggests that this series is painted by an artist of superior skill to Purkhu.

For other pages from the same numbered set, see Dye 2001, pp.346-8, no.149; Ehnbom 1985, pp.252-3, no.127, and Topsfield (ed.) 2004, pp.202-3, no.83 (as Guler); Goswamy-Bhatia 1999, pp.280-1, no.216; Kramrisch 1981, pp.222-4, nos.P-52A & C; Pal 1971, p.42, no.50; Pal 1978, pp.194-5, nos.72(a-b); Pal 2001, pp.24 & 117, no.50; London 1999, pp.104-5, no.68; London 2008, no.38; Philadelphia 2001, pp.200-1, no.86; Goswamy and Smith 2005, pp.248-9, no.106; Sotheby's, New York (Carter Burden Collection), 27 March 1991, lot 56. For other pages from a related series, see Archer 1973, vol.I, p.172, no.5, vol.II, p.126; Dye 2001, p.347, figs.87-89; Sotheby's, New York, 1 December 1993, lot 163.