Badri Narayan

Badri Narayan was a self-taught artist who experimented with medium and subject matter throughout his extensive career. The stylistic traits of Narayans' works bear traces of medieval woodcuts, Byzantine portraiture and Pahari miniatures, all the while infused by his playful storytelling and bold stylization.  

In the early years of his career, Narayan worked with Vitrum Studio (later Hexamar Studio) to produce hand-painted, glazed ceramic paintings, of which the current lot is a beautiful example. Unlike his later compositions, which are often crowded with families, fruit-sellers, mythological figures and animals, this tiled portrait is rendered in striking monochrome. With her almond eyes, oblong nose and patterned tunic, the current lot is a charming example of Narayan's ceramic work.