Important Notice

Bikaner School
Early 18th Century
Natural pigments on paper heightened with gold
7.75 x 5.25 in (19.5 x 13.5 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY



While most Rajput painting schools have had a Mughal influence, Bikaner paintings have had a Deccani or Bijapur influence that is pronounced from as early as the 17th century. Political allegiances and the migration of artists lead to a healthy exchange of styles and techniques between workshops of the two regions for centuries. Consequently, the colour palate of this Bikaner Rasik Priya (?) folio seems derived from a Bijapuri aesthetic. The attribution of the painting to be a Rasika Priya is tentative since there is no inscription to confirm nor is there a presence of Krishna in the composition to affirm it.
A slender noble lady is enjoying an evening on her balcony attended by an equally slender female attendant. Both are shown in a popular regional outfit - ghagara, choli and a transparent odhani. The seated lady’s ghagara (skirt) is golden, possibly indicating her higher status, as she reclines against a big bolster placed on a carpet. A number of pleasure-inducing accoutrements and luxury objects are placed around the seated lady like a silver decanter, plate, candelabra, chowki (stool), a golden pot, paan-daan and a caged blackbird. A few decanters are also seen set within niches in the room. A rich danafarang (malachite) background is beautifully contrasted with a horizon and an evening skyline. A further interesting detail is the honeycomb-patterned flooring on the terrace.

Bikaner School
Early 18th Century
Natural pigments on paper heightened with gold
7.75 x 5.25 in (19.5 x 13.5 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY



While most Rajput painting schools have had a Mughal influence, Bikaner paintings have had a Deccani or Bijapur influence that is pronounced from as early as the 17th century. Political allegiances and the migration of artists lead to a healthy exchange of styles and techniques between workshops of the two regions for centuries. Consequently, the colour palate of this Bikaner Rasik Priya (?) folio seems derived from a Bijapuri aesthetic. The attribution of the painting to be a Rasika Priya is tentative since there is no inscription to confirm nor is there a presence of Krishna in the composition to affirm it.
A slender noble lady is enjoying an evening on her balcony attended by an equally slender female attendant. Both are shown in a popular regional outfit - ghagara, choli and a transparent odhani. The seated lady’s ghagara (skirt) is golden, possibly indicating her higher status, as she reclines against a big bolster placed on a carpet. A number of pleasure-inducing accoutrements and luxury objects are placed around the seated lady like a silver decanter, plate, candelabra, chowki (stool), a golden pot, paan-daan and a caged blackbird. A few decanters are also seen set within niches in the room. A rich danafarang (malachite) background is beautifully contrasted with a horizon and an evening skyline. A further interesting detail is the honeycomb-patterned flooring on the terrace.