KRISHNA SPYING ON RADHA


NURPUR, CIRCA 1720Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. 7 5/8 x 11 in. (19.3 x 28 cm)
|Unaware of mischievous Krishna hanging over the palace wall, Radha is enjoying the company of her courtiers within the covered pavilion. In order to avoid alerting the maiden hidden behind the door on the left, Krishna scaled the palace wall if only to steal a glimpse of his beloved Radha. This folio appears to be from a later Rasamanjari series (or perhaps a one-off Nayika painting) than those dated 1710-1715, (Goswamy & Fischer, Masters of Indian Paintings: 1650-1900, Zurich, 2011, pp.455-7, figs.11-3). Krishna's crown type relates directly to one worn by Hanuman in a Nurpur series (Archer, Indian Paintings of the Punjab Hills, London, 1973, p.398, nos.17(ii)), also in a scene of Sita's abduction, and one worn by Durga, dated 1720-1730(ibid., no.18). Provenance Sotheby's, London, 11 December 1973, lot 340 Tooth & Sons., London The Collection of Peter Cochrane Bonhams, London, 6 April 2006, lot 327