An illustration from the Rasikapriya of Keshavdas: The sweet laughter of Radha, attributed to Sahibdin, India, Mewar, circa 1630-35

This illustration is attributed to the Muslim artist Sahibdin who was active between the years 1628-55. Sahibdin was the most important painter working at the Mewar royal court in the seventeenth century. Under his patron, Maharana Jagat Singh I, he developed an expressive and lyrical style which influenced the next few generations of artists at Udaipur. For further discussion on the artist, see A. Topsfield, ‘Sahibdin’, in M.C. Beach, E. Fischer, B.N. Goswamy, Masters of Indian Painting 1100-1650, Zurich, 2011, pp.391-406. See also A. Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur, Zurich, 2001, pp.64-66. Other folios from the same Rasikapriya series are in the Government Museum Udaipur, the British Library and the National Museum Delhi, see Goswamy & Fischer 2011, p.393, nos.7a-d, illus. figs.7&8 and Pal 1993, no.21A. Other illustrations sold in these rooms, Sotheby’s, New York, Important Indian Miniatures from the Paul F. Walter Collection, 14 November 2002, lot 19; 17 March 2015, lot 1133 and 24 April 2024, lot 154.