A PRINCESS VISITS A SADHU IN THE EVENING

Acquired 1980's

Some surface abrasions and minor stains to light colored back ground. Some lightly-washed unfinished passage. Mounted in a mid-Eighteenth Century Provincial Mughal album page with buff/natural gold-flecked borders between gold and black ruled lines. Verso: Minor stains and reinforced areas at edges. Conservation framed.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A princess and her handmaiden visit an ashen-smeared Shaivite sadhu (holyman) at his small peaked-roof hermitage.  He welcomes her, as she brings a bowl of fruit as an offering.  The bearded holyman, with his long matted locks, sits cross-legged on a tigerskin rug on a whitewashed hexagonal raised platform - accompanied by an acolyte holding a peacock-feathered morchal (flywhisk).  His pet saluki hound sleeps nearby.  On a thin-washed mossy-green landscape, her palace and town visible in the distance.

The painting is a counterpoint of exquisitely finished passages (the princess and the distant town) with lightly-washed unfinished passages (the hermitage and green background).  Mounted in a mid-Eighteenth Century Provincial Mughal album page with buff/natural gold-flecked borders between gold and black ruled lines.