AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A RAGAMALA SERIES: KAMODA RAGINI

RAGHOGARH, CIRCA 1675-80

RAGHOGARH, CIRCA 1675-80
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, within black rules and a red border; inscribed with ink in the yellow text panel above with a Sanskrit verse for Kamoda ragini, numbered 33 and also 34; the verso is inscribed with the raga's name in nasta'liq
Image: 8 5/8 x 7 3/4 in. (21.9 x 19.7 cm);
Folio: 11 3/8 x 9 1/4 (28.9 x 23.5 cm)

Giving form to a melody that conveys a specific mood, Kamoda ragini has several different iconographies, one of the more common showing a worshipper at a shrine with a rosary in hand. Here, our suitably attired hero kneels before a shivalingam contained within a portable shrine decorated with the flowers he has gathered. An awning runs from the pavilion's jharokha balcony to the magnificent tree over the little shrine, protecting the worshipper from the sun. A lady prays alongside him, while a maid prepares a bed in the palace behind. Some verses locate this scene on the bank of the Ganges, which the artist has alluded to by adding flowing water below the terrace. Three birds perch in the tree, while others fly among the feathery clouds in the steel-blue sky above.

This is a particularly beautiful page from a dispersed Ragamala series produced at Raghogarh, a small, former Rajput state in Malwa. The artist has carefully delineated the tree, with each leaf individually painted and outlined in white against the dark mass of the foliage. The painting also features a beautifully tiled roof, carefully outlined brickwork, and a vibrant red ground surrounding the figures. See lot 1215 in this sale for references to other paintings from this series.

Provenance:
Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, late 1960s or early 1970s
Christie's, New York, The Doris Wiener Collection, 20 March 2012, lot 290