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 were influenced by Mughal painting, Bikaner paintings have shown a pronounced Deccani or Bijapuri influence from as early as the 17th century. Political allegiances and the migration of artists led to a sustained exchange of styles and techniques between the workshops of the two regions over several centuries. Consequently, the colour palette of the present lot appears to derive from a Bijapuri aesthetic.

Here a slender noblewoman is enjoying an evening on her balcony waited on by a female attendant. Both are dressed in a ghagara choli (traditional skirt and blouse) and transparent odhani (veil). The seated lady’s ghagara is golden, possibly indicating her higher status, as she reclines against a large bolster placed on a carpet. Several accoutrements are arranged around her, including a silver decanter, plate, candelabra, chowki (stool), a golden pot, paan‒daan (betel leaf box) and a caged blackbird. A few decanters are also visible within niches in the room. A rich danafarang (malachite) background is beautifully contrasted with a horizon and an evening skyline. Another interesting detail is the honeycomb‒patterned flooring of 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 were influenced by Mughal painting, Bikaner paintings have shown a pronounced Deccani or Bijapuri influence from as early as the 17th century. Political allegiances and the migration of artists led to a sustained exchange of styles and techniques between the workshops of the two regions over several centuries. Consequently, the colour palette of the present lot appears to derive from a Bijapuri aesthetic.

Here a slender noblewoman is enjoying an evening on her balcony waited on by a female attendant. Both are dressed in a ghagara choli (traditional skirt and blouse) and transparent odhani (veil). The seated lady’s ghagara is golden, possibly indicating her higher status, as she reclines against a large bolster placed on a carpet. Several accoutrements are arranged around her, including a silver decanter, plate, candelabra, chowki (stool), a golden pot, paan‒daan (betel leaf box) and a caged blackbird. A few decanters are also visible within niches in the room. A rich danafarang (malachite) background is beautifully contrasted with a horizon and an evening skyline. Another interesting detail is the honeycomb‒patterned flooring of the terrace.