AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A BARAMASA SERIES: COURTESANS ENJOYING THE ARRIVAL OF THE MONSOON


KANGRA, 1810-1820Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Image: 8 1/2 x 6 3/8 in. (21.5 x 16.2 cm);Folio: 10 5/8 x 8 3/8 in. (27 x 21.2 cm)
|The nayika and her attendants relish in the arrival of the monsoon. She stands apart from her entourage, taking a pause from her hookah pipe to gaze at the swelling dark clouds and lightening strikes that remind her passionate nights with her lover. As she raises a hand to steady her head scarf, one can practically hear the clamorous thunder and strong winds that have agitated the egrets in the distance. Compare a related scene in the San Diego Museum of Art (Goswamy & Smith, Domains of Wonder, San Diego, 2005. pp.252-3, fig.108), as well as Christie's, New York, 18 September 2013, lot 363, and Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3106. Exhibited Blumen, Bäume, Göttergärten, Völkerkunde-Museum, Hamburg, 17 March – 27 October 2013 Provenance. Chughtai Collection, Lahore Private German Collection