Lot 31
  • 31

RABINDRANATH TAGORE | Untitled (Peacock)

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
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Description

  • Tagore, Rabindranath
  • Untitled (Peacock)
  • Signed, inscribed and dated in Bengali lower left. Further inscribed indistinctly in Bengali and 'Queen Cleopatra' on reverse 
  • Ink and pencil on paper
  • 12 x 7 ¾ in. (30.4 x 19.6 in.)
  • Executed on 15 April 1941

Provenance

Private Collection
Sotheby's New York, 10 October 1997, lot 13 

Condition

There is wear, creasing and loss to paper, notably along the edges. Small areas of paper repair along the top edge and minor spots of foxing are visible. This work has been backed/glued onto hand-made paper and is in stable condition. The colors are lighter in reality than in the 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.
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.

Catalogue Note

In 1976, the Government of India declared Rabindranath Tagore’s work to be a national treasure with regard to his ‘artistic and aesthetic value’ and prohibited the exportation of his works outside the country. Today, he is remembered primarily, as the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
Tagore turned to painting later in life and his true talent was recognized whilst on a trip to Argentina when he visited as a guest of Signora Victoria Ocampo. He kept a private journal of his doodles and sketches which were very ornate. His technique of working and reworking lines is both enigmatic and expressive, as seen in the current lot. Ocampo felt his drawings of birds and faces were spiritual in nature and saw them as much more than naturalistic interpretations. Inspired by his interest in anthropology, his renditions of animals were seen as grotesque and anthropomorphic, and were seldom typical representations. This use of the familiar yet unknown has become synonymous with Tagore’s drawings and paintings. This drawing is dated by Tagore - 15 April 1941. He died a few months later on 7 August 1941.