AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A DASHAVATARA SERIES: KURMA AVATAR


MANDI, CIRCA 1720Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Image: 6 1/2 x 10 in. (16.5 x 25.4 cm);Folio: 7 3/4 x 11 1/8 in. (19.6 x 28.2 cm)
|Vishnu in his avatar, the turtle Kurma, battles the evil demon within a river spaced by large lotus blossoms. A folio of Avatar Matsya in the British Museum is likely from the same series (see, Ahluwalia, Rajput Painting, London, 2008, p.123, fig.79). Ahluwalia notes, "The heavy shading and coarse forms...places the work firmly in the reign of Sidh Sen period of Mandi painting, a period of forty years characterized by this heavy stippled and thus easily recognizable style." Published Ludwig Habighorst, Der Blaue Gott, Ragaputra Edition, Koblenz, 2014, p.87 fig.37. Exhibited Blumen – Bäume – Göttergärten, Völkerkunde-Museum, Hamburg, 17 March - 27 October 2013. Der Blaue Gott, Mittelrhein-Museum Koblenz, 26 July - 5 October 2014. Provenance Arki Royal Collection Private German Collection