Prahlad Bubbar

Indian Miniature Paintings and Masters of 19th Century Photography

Recent Acquisitions

Asia Week New YorkMarch 10 - 19 2016

Exhibition held at Arader Galleries 1016 Madison Avenue New York 10075

Preface

On the occasion of Asia Week 2016, it is a pleasure to return to New York with a fine and diverse selection of classical Indian paintings dating from 1600 – 1825 and early photographs of India. Together they pro-vide a vivid glimpse of life in the Subcontinent.

Highlights this year include works from the Mughal, Deccan and Rajput Courts. An allegory of youth and fertility: a newly discovered Golconda painting of circa 1680 depicts a young woman offering an apple to her child. A sublime pleasure pavilion of courtly splendor is found in the large and refined album page ‘Ladies celebrate Holi’, commissioned by Antoine Polier at Lucknow, a Swiss adventurer in India in the 1780s. Women also take center stage in two intimate, jewel-like paintings from Udaipur that depict temple interiors.

A sublime portrait made for the Emperor Jehangir, and a sensitive and highly perceptive Afghan fam-ily by the Fraser artist represents the pinnacle of achievement in Indian painting. From the Mughal courts that continued to flourish in the 18th century, is a delicate painting of court ladies visiting a holy man, of circa 1720, where the artist paints in the earlier style associated with Shah Jahan. A dazzling elephant fight by the gifted painter Mir Kalan Khan displays an otherworldly realm. Two vibrant Shahna-ma leaves illustrate the best of luxury manuscripts being made in the late 18th century. They retain the most luminous mineral pigments. Master drawings from Guler in the Punjab Hills by the great painter Manaku, and Ragamala drawings by the Sirohi mas-ter display the fluid line of the Indian brush.

The exhibition concludes with an exceptional group of photographic works by Raja Deen Dayal, recently researched by Deborah Hutton. A representative col-lection of his oeuvre – thirty-five albumen prints by India’s leading photographer of the 19thcentury.

Shubha and Prahlad BubbarLondon, February 2016

8

Prahlad BubbarIndian and Islamic Art

33 Cork Street Mayfair,London W1S 3NQ+44 (0)20 7494 3144www.prahladbubbar.cominfo@prahladbubbar.com

Acknowledgements

BN GoswamyDeborah HuttonJerry LostyHelen LovedayShiva MihanMiguel PachecoRichard ShellabearRobert SkeltonAvani Sood

Catalogue

1 A Young Woman offers an apple to her child

Golconda. Deccan. IndiaLast quarter of the 17th centuryOpaque watercolour and gold on paper22.5 x 15 cm

A vivid and intimate scene of the zenana is captured in the image, where a young royal maiden receives her child and offers him an apple. They are seated in an open courtyard as the breeze sways the leaves of the plantain and palm trees on a warm summer day. Clouds seem to be building up as the pre-monsoon approaches. The picture is framed within a lyrical ar-chitectural setting with a painterly depiction of white marble arches, and gold borders, the energetic line of the tiled floor and slightly tilted golden charpoy create a sense of depth.

The women wear diaphanous muslins and elegant printed textiles with floral motifs, that Golconda became renowned for and were a speciality of the kingdom’s eastern coastal zone. They are dressed in finery and jewelled from head to toe with ornaments of southern and Maratha taste. Their curvaceous bodies, narrow waists and elegant long limbs are cel-ebrated by the artist with minute details, with a razor sharp, fluid line and the use of stippling and shading. The wide hips and elegant postures are reminiscent of a medieval pan-Indian aesthetic of fertility.

An inscription in nasta’liq on the reverse bears the words ‘haft sin’ meaning the seven s’s from the auspi-cious Persian table of ‘nowruz’. This is a reference to the apple or Sib, symbol of youth and fertility. Is this image an allegory youth and fertility? Persian tra-ditions and culture was very much alive among the elite of Golconda.

After the young Sultan Abdullah Qutb shah signed the deed of Submission to Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1630, there was a period of stability and trade, as well as the various arts and crafts flourished in Golconda.

11

With trade came foreign contacts and “an altogether different style of painting came to the region, still to be better understood within the context of Deccani traditions – works with European themes, such as the Holy family, Madonna and Child…”

Closely related works include the Dancing Girl formerly in the Welch collection, and the Sleeping Maiden and maid in the Museum fur Islamsiche Kunst in Berlin, both published in Haidar and Zebrowski. There is little doubt our painting comes from the same workshop and was likely made for a Mughal patron. Our painting subsequently ended up in a Rajasthani collection as a number of important Deccani painting did, this is evident from the vibrant red borders. What ties them together apart form the strong visual and stylistic connection, in Zebrowski’s words is the ‘alluring tropical world that springs to life, the luxurious languid pace. Delicate twists of loosened garments and serene expressions suggest both inner contentment and sexual joy”

Provenance: Private collection, UK

References:

Haidar and Sardar, Sultans of the Deccan. 1500-1700. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2015. Pp252-53

Zebrowski, Mark. Deccani Painting. Sotheby’s 1983.

2 Ragini Khambavati

Attributed to the Sirohi Master. Drawing with red ochre pigment on paperSirohi, c. 168022.5 x 16.5 cm

A ragamala or ‘garland of flowers’ is an illustration of various musical modes of Indian music. Each draw-ing or painting illustrates a poem that evokes the mood of a specific raga. These poetic verses usually describe the sentiment or mood that is associated with each raga, while suggesting the time of day or night as well as the season when they are to be per-formed. 1

This elegant preparatory drawing rendered in sind-huri qalam, sanguine, is most likely that of Ragini Khambavati, a relatively little known ragini of Raga Malkos, which is often depicted inconsistently. In this fluid drawing, the Hindu god Brahma is clearly identifiable with his four crowned heads as he holds the vedas in two of his four arms, and raises the third as if holding the rosary, seated on a lotus. He is being revered in a palatial setting by a lady.2 She bows be-fore him in veneration while another lady who is her attendant stands behind her holding a water pot and a flywhisk. The deity is seated in a pavilion with steps leading up to it, while an ewer and pots of water can be seen below it.

This is a preparatory sketch for a ragamala painting, which is evident from the writing on its surface, which would have served as instructions for the painter for the colours to be used. This drawing is a fine example of the iconography and style of rag-amalas from the kingdom of Sirohi which are usually simple, immediate and bold compositions, with im-agery often spilling into the borders edge, as is seen here. The figures have small faces with full cheeks and pursed lips.

14

Under the rule of Akheyraj II (1620-73) and his grandson, Bairisal (1676-97), Sirohi saw a thriving and vibrant painting atelier. Most paintings done in the Sirohi style are ragamala manuscripts, making it evident that this subject was a favourite. This pref-erence for ragamalas extends beyond the produc-tion of manuscripts, as ragamala imagery profusely decorates the upper cornice of a room in the Sirohi Palace. 3 Unlike most other schools that followed a prescribed iconography, the Sirohi school made use of employed local, popular musical names for some of their images.

The fluidity of line in this sketch is characteristic of the finest Rajput works, and testimony to an assured understanding of form and iconography. In addition, drawings give an opportunity to the viewer to exam-ine the technique and draughtsmanship that under-lies the paintings.

1 Catherine Glynn, Robert Skelton, Anna L. Dallapicco-la, Ragamala paintings from India: From the Claudio Moscatelli Collection, London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2011, pp. 13-142 An earlier painting of the same ragini, dated to 1605 in the Mewar Chawand style is in the collection of the San Diego Museum of Art (1990.0587) and has been pub-lished in Indian Court Painting 16th-19th century, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997, p. 42.3 Glynn, Skelton, Dallapiccola, 2011, p. 60.

15 16

3 Princely Women visit a holy Man

Mughal. India. Circa 1720-30Opaque pigments and gold on paperInscription, Persian: Tasvir-i darvish siyasiFolio 47 x 34 cm Painting 23.5 x 15 cm

Set in an open landscape, this painting shows a scene of an ascetic being visited by ladies. A group of four ascetics are shown occupying a marble pavilion under a tree. The most venerated ascetic appears to be the one who is seated on a tiger skin in padmasa-na, with his hands in dhyanamudra, and eyes closed in deep meditation. He has long locks, a long white beard and wears a loincloth. Offerings of coconuts and fruits have been placed before him. He is proba-bly the mystic Siyasi, as is suggested by an inscription in nastaliq painted in black in a golden cartouche on the upper border of the painting. An attendant stands behind him bearing a flywhisk. Another bearded ascetic with long hair is seated next to the tree with a piece of paper in hand. The fourth ascetic is dressed in a saffron tunic and his hair is tied up in a topknot with another saffron cloth. His forehead is smeared with vermillion, and he holds out an offering in his right hand. Behind this ascetic, a black dog is seen curled up, asleep.

The women are clad in bright costumes and have their heads covered with odhnis. They all are heavily ornamented with necklaces, earrings, bracelets and bazubands. While some have their hands folded in reverence, some such as the older woman dressed in white at the corner of the frame, hold offerings. One of the ladies dressed in a mauve tunic and orange odhni appears to be much younger than the others and wears what looks like a jeweled crown on her head. The faces of the women all bear different ex-pressions and are individualized. Their garb suggests they belong to a royal household, probably a Hindu one.

18

The entire scene is set in an idyllic setting next to the river. In the far distance atop a hill, some people and buildings can be seen. The river then almost serves as a marker of separation between the divine world of the mystic and the profane world. The cliff next to the river provides seclusion to the mystic who is in deep meditation. The artist cleverly uses elements of nature such as the few orange leaves of the tree and a pair of parrots near it, and the blue sky with specks of gold to create a serene atmosphere. The chosen colour palette with subtle shades further heightens the impact.

The album page of buff, gold-splashed paper with a inscribed cartouche above indicates that this page came from a collection of paintings similarly mounted, both contemporary and from the previous century, that Leach mistakenly suggests (1995, pp. 654-56) was assembled for the Nawab of Avadh Shu-ja’ al-Daula in Faizabad, c. 1770. Some of the pages seem to have been acquired as an album by Sir Elijah Impey and have been dispersed. Some of Impey’s pages were acquired by Francis Douce and are now in the Bodleian Library (Douce Or. A.3, nos. 15-28), others went to France in the late 19th century, some entering the Pozzi collection (Pozzi catalogue, nos. 17-21, 24, 71, 82; see Losty 2008, no. 11). Others from this large album remained in India and were ac-quired by an Admiral Fremantle and are now in the Chester Beatty Library. While some of the inscrip-tions in the cartouches are straightforward, others are less so.

We would like to thank Jerry Losty for his expert advise on this painting.

Provenance: Private collection, UK

19

4 A Vision of an Elephant Hunt

Attributed to the artist Mir Kalan KhanLucknow, India, circa 1760Opaque watercolour and gold on paper21.5 x 13.2 cm

This exquisite painting displays the mature style of the artist Mir Kalan Khan. Active circa 1734-1770, he began his career in Delhi as a master painter in the atelier of Muhammad Shah (r. 1719-1748), before moving to Avadh circa 1755. Mir Kalan Khan’s style was more experimental than his contemporaries, such as Kalyan Das, who popularised the classicising elegance associated with painting of the Muhammad Shah period. He rejected this formal aesthetic in favour of a more expressive and emotive style that incorporated a range of influences, from masterpiec-es of the Mughal and Deccani courts to works of art from Europe.

Mir Kalan Khan’s understanding of Indian painting styles, particularly those of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, is evident in the present work. Employing the traditional vertical format he depicts an elephant hunt, with two fighting elephants as the epicentre of action. Whilst primarily a genre scene, the painting has a strong narrative quality, expressed in three distinct registers. In the distant background a spear-wielding group attempts to capture two wild elephants as they bathe in a lake, while two figures converse with urgency and gesture towards them; in the mid-ground, a princely figure with a radiant halo sits astride a rearing horse, a falcon on his arm as he gazes beyond the picture’s frame; and finally in the foreground, two elephants clash with glorious, sinu-ous aplomb, their gold bells jangling, trunks delicate-ly intertwined and bodies colliding with irrefutable grace.

The theme of fighting elephants, specifically tame beasts gone astray to trample an unfortunate mahout, is widely depicted in Indian painting. It was popular in the Deccan and Mughal contexts and found mas-terful expression in the paintings of Bundi and Kota in Rajasthan.

22

Particularly apparent here in the faces of the ele-phants and the horse and rider, these lines create areas of dramatic contrast, drawing the viewer in and accentuating the sense of drama and energy through-out. The scene is also imbued with a strong sense of movement; figures lunge and stride with fluidity, almost as though engaged in a dance. Their distinctive round faces, some in three-quarter profile and with eyes that glance inquisitively to one side, are expressive and delicately painted. They are a further characteristic that defines the mature style of this evocative and enigmatic artist, Mir Kalan Khan.

References:

Beach, M.C., Eberhard Fischer & B.N. Goswamy (eds.). Masters of Indian Painting. Zurich: Artibus Asiae Publishers, 2011.Leach, Linda. Paintings From India. The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art: Vol. 8. London and New York: Nour Foundation in association with Azi-muth Editions and Oxford University Press, 1998.Markel, Stephen (ed.). India’s Fabled City: The Court-ly Art of Lucknow. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2010.

Provenance:

Private Collection, France, 1969-2014.Collection of Mr. C., Paris, 1969.

Here, Mir Kalan Khan’s elephants are more dynamic than those typical of Mughal examples and less heavy and muscular in form than those of Bundi and Kota. Their exaggerated pose, fluttering ears, piercing gold eyes and fluid motion are more reminiscent of seven-teenth century renditions from the Deccan, particu-larly Bijapur.

This same energy is found in the magnificently coloured horse, its coat a radiant wash of pale blue through yellow to deep orange. The horse’s form, derived from a traditional Mughal and ultimately Persian prototype, embodies a tension and expressive complexity equally akin to works of seventeenth-cen-tury Deccani art.

Colour plays an important role in the work of Mir Kalan Khan. Conjuring hot red sunsets and glowing forest glades, his otherworldly use of colour imbues the painting with a fantastical, dream-like quality. The ethereal landscape provides sanctuary to the drama of the hunt, its billowing rock forms and softly flowing streams exquisitely rendered with subtle shading and iridescent gold.

The liberal use of gold powder, mixed and applied in a European-inspired watercolour technique, is an important characteristic of Mir Kalan Khan’s mature style. The rock forms appear luminescent in warm yellow, fading into areas of deep blue and green.

The scene is rendered with remarkable detail, illus-trating Mir Kalan Khan’s masterful draughtsmanship. Smooth shading is heightened with fine line drawing, evident in the detail of the portraits, the soft furs of the princely rider and the tiny lock of hair caught be-fore his ear. A distinctive feature of Mir Kalan Khan’s work is the freely drawn application of black pigment in the form of expressive outlines.

23

5 Savarna Manu

6 Narada Intervenes in a Battle

Two Illustrations to the Bhagavata PuranaAttributed to Manaku of GulerGuler, Punjab Hills, circa 174020 x 30.5 cm

These two drawings are from an unfinished Bhagava-ta Purana manuscript attributed to Manaku of Guler. The son of the artist Pandit Seu and older brother of Nainsukh, Manaku was a member of one of the most celebrated painter families of the Pahari Hills. In their extensive research on the artists of this region, B.N. Goswamy and E. Fischer have attributed three major sets to his name: ‘The Siege of Lanka Series’ (from a Ramayana circa 1725), the Gita Govinda (circa 1730) and this Bhagavata Purana.

The manuscript was an ambitious project consisting of hundreds of folios incorporating scenes with little iconographic precedent. They reveal Manaku’s con-summate skill as a draughtsman, translating text to image, creating arresting compositions and animated characters. While the early folios are fully painted, the majority remain as brush drawings.

26

Narada Intervenes in a Battle

Narada occupies the centre of the composition, in between the two opposing battalions of men and demons. The depiction of Narada’s body reflects the mediating nature of his action, as his body is facing the men, while his head and one of his hands turn back to the demons. His hands are particularly ex-pressive of the delicate thoughtfulness required in his intervention, with one hand pointing to the demons and another to the sky, invoking a higher divine di-mension for the resolution of this earthly conflict.

The artist creates a very precise and decisive kind ofdrawing, using a range of intensities of lines, from clearly marked to more subtle suggestions of forms. Particular attention is paid to the expressiveness of the figures. A stark contrast is established between the serene but austere faces of the men and the fan-tastical grotesqueness of the demons. And even the horses of the two sides of the battle are depicted in opposing manners, as the horses carrying the men seem to embody nobility, while those carrying the demons reflect a restless emotional state.

27 28

‘Savarna Manu’(Inscription in takri)

Three men, each wearing three-pointed crowns, sit in a garden pavilion. Tall stems with flower buds, a twisting tree and sweeping clouds are sketched delicately in the background. Manu, the first king of the world, sits cross-legged on a throne in conver-sation with a man that is seated before him. Notable are the sweeping stokes of Manaku’s brush, allowing us to appreciate his process as an artist. The strong arching brows and masterful portraiture translate the age and countenance of Manu with ease. The influ-ence of Mughal painting is clear in the naturalism of the figures and their faithfully rendered clothes and accoutrements.

Provenance:

Private collection, Lahore, 1960s.Private collection, London.

29 30

7 The Poet Jami

Attributed to the artist Keshav DasMughal, India, circa 1605-10Opaque watercolour and gold on paperFolio 29.5 x 20.5 cm Painting 14 x 7.5 cm

An elegant, perceptively drawn, contemplative man rests on his staff, as he clutches onto a book. There is outstanding expressiveness to his face and brow that speak of experience and life. Dressed in rose co-loured flowing robes, a pale blue shawl, and a chest-nut coloured turban, he is offset against an ethereal and atmospherically affected landscape.

In the studies of Mughal painting, portraiture has always occupied substantive space and high quality examples have been praised and received scholarly attention from early on. The keen Emperor patrons, who commissioned them, sought great finesse of workmanship and a lifelike quality, but Jehangir expected a new level of perception from his artist, added to an interest in psychological insight.

With the reign of the Emperor Jehangir (1605-1627), there was a shift from the making of manuscripts to a greater interest in exquisitely illustrated albums. Already the young Shah Salim, as he was known in his youth, was a discerning aesthete, having com-missioned the fine albums named the Salim Albums. Now mostly dispersed leaves, one such album re-mains intact in the Royal Collection at Windsor. Jehangir was a keen observer of life, his memoirs re-flect a man of exacting detail and penetrating insight.

During the time of his accession to the throne and onwards, Jehangir had a deep connection to the work of the Timurid Sufi poet Jami. He recalls in the Tuzuk that the opening verse of Yusuf and Zulaikha,

‘O God, open the rosebud of hope. Display a flower from the everlasting garden...’

was the first couplet he ever learnt by heart and recit-ed before the Shaikh. The convention of portraying Jami is almost always with a blue cloak or shawl over a brown robe.

31

The exquisite painting comes from an imperial album from the early part of Jehangir’s reign. It has been suggested by Skelton that it originates from an album that was obviously looted by Nadir Shah in 1739. This is apparent from the style of borders with chestnut plants that it was in Persia during the course of its history, an almost identical border is found on a leaf with a painting by Miskin.

Keshav Das is named by Abu’l Fazl, Akbar’s biogra-pher, as one of the five leading artists in the imperial atelier. He was an eclectic and prolific artist, well known for his adaptations of European engravings. During his long career, it is known that he applied his talents at the service of Prince Salim and for the future emperor. “The artist Keshav Das’s work was clearly influenced by European engravings”, accord-ing to Amina Okada.

What is visible and most apparent in our portrait is a rare expressiveness, shading of facial musculature, wrinkles, and modelling that clearly have roots in European pictorial styles that the artist absorbed from his close acquaintance with European art. A distinctive feature in his work is the depiction of large thumbs and toes.

References:

Beach, Milo. The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India 1600-1660. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute: 1st Edition, 1978.Okada, Amina. Imperial Mughal Painters: Indian Miniatures from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Cen-turies. Paris: Flammarion, 1992.

Provenance:

The Heeramaneck collection, USA, 1960s.Private collection, USA, 1970s-2015.

34

8 Raga Vibhas

Kota, RajasthanCirca 1760Opaque watercolour and gold on paper27 x 19 cm

This beautifully rendered painting of Raga Vibhas made during the second half of the eighteenth centu-ry comes from Kota in Rajasthan. Raga Vibhas which is performed at daybreak, is almost always pictured as a male protagonist holding a bow and an arrow of flowers—a reference to heroic love. While the ren-dering of this raga may sometimes vary, the mood evoked by it is almost always one of intimacy.

In this particular example, the lovers are seated on a bed in an embrace. The man sits with one leg folded at the knee and raised, and the other stretched. His ladylove is seated on his lap with one arm around his shoulder, holding him close as she gazes lovingly into his eyes, while her head rests on his arm. Their bod-ies are in snug contact, their faces are close to each other and they seem to be savoring the moment. The lovers have been kept awake all night by their pas-sion. As per the standard iconographic convention for the rendering of Raga Vibhas, the man carries a flower-decorated bow with a lotus arrow, which he aims at the love god, Kama in an attempt to reignite the passion of his lover at the end of a night of love-making. In some renderings, he is shown aiming the arrow at a rooster, symbolic of his attempt to stop the coming of dawn and therefore prevent the night from ending. Classical dhyana texts envision the musical mode as a man, “bright as gold”, and “saturated with the sweet taste of the nectar of his lady love’s lips”.

35

Here, the lover wears a golden turban with a thin textured jama while his lover is dressed in a short choli (blouse) and a black and gold lower garment. They are both heavily ornamented. Their faces are characteristic of Kota paintings of this period as they have large, heavily shaded eyes, beak-like noses and rounded foreheads. Around their bed are bottles of unguents, ewers, utensils and fruits. Architectural-ly, the scene has been situated in an open fronted loggia with large arches, recessed niches, a balustrade terrace, a domed chhatri, and jalis. On the roof, a frontal peacock has its tail spread as if breaking into a dance.

The palette of the painting is bold and carefully thought out to have the maximum visual impact. The walls and floor of the bedchamber are painted in deep red hues, signifying the intense passion of the lovers. The grey blue skies with the twinkling stars indicate the early morning sky just before dawn. By the second half of the eighteenth century, shades of purple had found their way into Kota paintings, and glimpses of that can be seen in the architecture. The artists at this time were also making use of white areas to separate blocks of strong colours, something that has been cleverly achieved here by using the white of the architectural elements.

Provenance:

The Heeramaneck collection, USA, 1960s.

38

9 Royal women worshipping at the Amba MataTemple, Udaipur.

Udaipur, MewarCirca 1760-80Opaque watercolour and gold on paper16.5 x 11.5 cm

Composed primarily in rich, deep hues of red and gold, this painting depicts a scene of worship where two women are seated in shrine of Amba Mata along with a priest. The centre of the frame depicts the sanctum where the idol of Amba Mata, an import-ant deity for the rulers of Udaipur is enshrined on a raised platform in a recessed niche under a plush ceiling and a golden parasol. Two bells forming part of the rituals associated with worship at the temple, hang directly overhead. The idol is richly embellished with finery and garlands of flowers around its neck. Immediately in front of the idol is a Shiva linga on a yoni, which is also covered in flowers and jewels. On either side of the linga are golden utensils, part of the ritual implements. To the left is an ascetic-like figure perhaps Shiva carrying a trident. To the right is a figure of Ganesha seated in padmasana. Two highly decorated niches occupy the walls next to the platform, with silhouettes of figures of Ganesha and probably the monkey-god, Hanuman.

Below the central pavilion with the idol, directly in front of it is a large figure of Nandi the bull, Shiva’s vahana or vehicle seated in a state of beatitude. There are two raised platforms on each side of this where the priest, and a royal lady are seated respectively. The woman is resting against a golden bolster. Next to her, but seated a level lower, on a plush red carpet with floral motifs is another lady who appears to be an attendant or younger member of the household. While she wears numerous ornaments as well, her costume and jewellery are less exquisite than those of the lady seated on the platform who wears a multi-tude of pearls, a prerogative of the royals amongst Mughals and their Rajput counterparts. The priest is dressed in a saffron yellow dhoti (lower garment) and wears rudraksh beads around his neck, wrists and arm. He holds a rosary of white beads in his right hand.

39

The faces are rendered in a distinctly Udaipur style of this period with the long and large eyes and chubby chins associated with the artist Bagta and his work-shop. A closer look at the faces reveals a confident attempt at portraiture in spite of having the common features and characteristic of the style. Portraits of women are indeed rare.

The architecture is shown in white, which is true to life as the Amba Mata temple in Udaipur is built in white stone. The scene is executed as a pyrami-dal composition that establishes hierarchy, with the chief gods and goddesses being at the centre on a high pedestal, followed by the priest and the royal woman one step down, but on raised platforms, and finally, seated on the floor is the lady in waiting. This painting is also significant because one often sees depictions of the kings and other royal men worship-ping in shrines, while this is an uncommon intimate painting of women offering worship in the sanctum of a temple.

Provenance:

Private collection, UK.

41 42

10 Royal women worshipping at the Jagdish Temple at Udaipur

Udaipur, MewarCirca 1760-80Opaque watercolour and gold on paper16.5 x 11.5 cm

From the same set as the previous painting, this ele-gant composition shows royal women in the sanctum sanctorum of the historic Jagdish Temple at Udai-pur. Framed by an arched niche at the centre of the painting, is a four-handed idol of Vishnu dressed in royal garb. He wears a deep red tunic with a golden floral border and a matching belt. He wears a jew-elled crown and is heavily ornamented with neck-laces, bracelets and bazubands. He has the vanamala (garland) around his neck and in three of his four hands he holds a mace, a discus and a lotus respec-tively, which are all associated with the iconography of Vishnu. Right above the idol at the centre are two jewelled parasols, which are markers of both, royalty and divinity. Flowers are scattered at his feet, which have been placed as offerings.

He is flanked on either side by smaller idols of Radha and Krishna. The Jagdish Temple is dedicated to Lakshmi Narayana, who have different roots and are interpreted variously in different traditions. Here they are visualised as Radha and Krishna—Krishna with a peacock feather in his crown and a flute to his lips, and Radha in a short red blouse, a golden skirt with floral border and a matching odhni which cov-ers her head. The idols are all placed against a silver grid background, imitating mirrors, that is framed within an arabesque border.

Seated before the idols, are two royal ladies. One of them sits on a white sheet spread out over the red carpet with the gold flowers. She sits against a bolster and is dressed in a short blue blouse with an orange skirt and odhni. She wears multiple strings of pearls around her neck and wears heavy bangles, earrings, bazubands, and jewellery in her hair and nose. She belongs to the royal family of Udaipur. The younger lady sits to the right on the carpet, indicative of her lower status than the first woman. She sits with her hands joined and outstretched- a gesture of seeking God’s grace.

43

Between the two women is a gilded idol of Garuda, the half-man, half-bird vahana (vehicle) of Vishnu. His hands are held out in anjali mudra, in reverence to Vishnu. Interestingly, even today there is a large brass image of Garud at the Jagdish Temple in Udai-pur, which is probably the one depicted here.

Much like the previous folio from this set, there is an attempt by the artist to paint more individualized faces, in a manner distinctive of artist Bagta and his workshop. The squat figures are characteristic of the Udaipur style of the second half of the eighteenth century. This is a fine example of the royal women of Udaipur offering worship in the intimate setting of a temple sanctum. The painting is important because it gives us a glimpse into the private religious lives of the royal ladies of the time, and also an understand-ing of the way in which the temple functioned as an integral part of the religious lives of people through the centuries. Incidentally, the Jagdish Temple, which was built in 1651 by Maharana Jagat Singh still con-tinues to be a very important temple in the city of Udaipur.

Provenance:

Private collection, UK.

45 46

11 Ladies celebrate Holi on a pleasure pavilion

Leaf from an album made for Antoine PolierAttributed to Mihr Chand, with calligraphy by Hafiz Nur UllahLucknow, India, circa 1780Opaque watercolour and gold on paperFolio 45.5 x 61.5 cm Painting 25 x 38 cm

Set within a tranquil, earthly, manmade paradise, a group of elegant and finely dressed court women celebrate holi. The luxurious architecture consists of islands within pools, interconnected with bridges.

The fabrics, tents, golden trays, flowers, and fine jewels are testimonies of the wealth and decadence of Lucknow in the 18th century. The pomp and ceremo-ny epitomize the elegance and grace of court life and the music and dance that were so integral to daily activities and celebrations.

Upon close observation, one is able to see numer-ous details unfold in the lively scene; women carry fragrant rose-petals in small baskets, refreshments are being brought for the predilection of the ladies in covered baskets, there is the sound of clapping, of light percussion and delicate song. Blue and white porcelain dishes are used for the colours of holi being sprayed.

The artist takes great delight in depicting reflections in the water and in the accurate portrayal of archi-tectural elements. The new leaves in the beautiful mature trees in the foreground indicate the arrival of spring when Holi is celebrated. In the background boats are seen around the pleasure pavilions as the women entertain themselves. The hills and town of Lucknow are visible in the distance.

49 50

هدومن ریرحت ۱۱۹۵ یلعدمحم

Written by Muhammad ‘Alī in 1195 (AH)

- in the middle, below:

تسنم یاهبجعلاوب زا یتبحصمه وت اب۱۱۹۵ یلعدمحم

Being together with you is a source of wonder for me

Muhammad ‘Alī 1195

-right: (poem by the Persian poet, Nizāmī)

وهارت سب اقب و یناف همه امارت سدقت و یلاعت کلم

We are all mortal and only you are infiniteThe sublime kingdom and holiness are yours

(poem by Nizamī)

دنز قلبا رب گناب مدع هک نوچدنز قحلا انا هک درا هک وت زج

When non-existence roars at the worldWho but you dares say “I am God”?

هللارون ظفاح رادقمیب هرذ

The insignificant particle, Hāfiz Nūr-allāh

- left: (poem by the Persian poet, Khāqānī)

وهیغارچ و نم بش همه اهنتمزور هاگپ ات هدش سنوم

Along every night - I and a lamphas become my comfort till my day dawns

Patronage for painting in Lucknow was spurred by European patrons and collectors in the mid 18th century. Antoine Polier, of Swiss origin was one such connoisseur. An aristocrat from Lausanne, a mercenary, engineer, spy and businessman, he was a man of many talents. His interest and engagement with India, its mythology, music and dance, is evi-dent from two paintings of him in Mughal costume watching a traditional dance. Polier worked for Warren Hasting, the illuminated Governor general of Bengal in Calcutta, and subsequently for Shu-ja-Ud-Dowlah, the Nawab of Awadh. It is known that Polier collected fine Deccani and Mughal paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries and commissioned new work. His training as an engineer evidently had a bearing on his taste; a strong sense of perspective and architectural accuracy is visible in the paintings made for him.

His retained artist, Mihr Chand, was a man of great skill trained at the Mughal court, he was responsible for the production of the albums, including their layouts and decoration.

Polier commissioned paintings actively and gave some as gifts. A group of images in the Museum fur Islamische Kunst, Berlin: The Berlin Album I5005, is very closely related. Other leaves from the Poli-er albums are found in the Asian Art Museum San Francisco, and in the collection of Princess Catherine Aga Khan.

Illuminated calligraphy on the reverse of the album page in nasta’liq with translations:

- In the middle, above:

لخد طخلا نسحب میحرلا نمحرلا هللا مسب بتک نمباسح ریغب هنجلا

Whoever writes Bismillah al-rahman al-rahīm (in the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful) in a fine hand, enters paradise without a reckoning. (A saying by the Prophet Muhammad)

Provenance:

Antoine Louis Polier, circa 1780, thence by descent. Private collection, USA.

References:

Gabebusch, R.D. ‘Celestial Gardens. Mughal Minia-tures from an 18th Century Album’. Orientations vol. 31/9, 2000.

Gude, Markel. India’s Fabled City: The Art of Courtly Lucknow. Los Angeles: LACMA, Munich, Berlin, London and New York: DelMonico • Prestel, 2011.

Koch, Ebba. ‘Mughal Gardens from Babur to Shah Jahan’, Muqarnas, vol. 14, 1997.

شدرس هآب مشکب یهاگمزورفرب هنیس فت زا هاگ

Sometimes I extinguish it with a cold sighSometimes I inflame it with the heat in my heart

هللارون ظفاح بنذملا دبعلا هقشم

Written by the servant, the sinner, Hāfiz Nūr-allāh

51

12 Rustam fights Akvān Dīv

Scene from the ShahnamaFrom a dispersed illustrated manuscript Mughal, Late 18th Century. Kashmir or Punjab 39 x 27 cm

The Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi is a great Persian epic of almost sixty thousand rhyming cou-plets. It narrates the story of the rulers of Iran from mythical beginnings up until the conquest of Iran by the Arabs, and the coming of Islam. This epic cap-tured the imagination of generations of people and illustrated manuscripts of it were produced across regions and time. Therefore there is no one standard edition, and there exist many variations of it. There are however, various iconographic elements that make characters and scenes easy to identify no mat-ter which manuscript one is looking at.

In a key episode of the Shahnama, a scene from which is depicted here, Rustam sets out to kill the demon Akvan who first appears before him in the form of a large and powerful wild ass. Rustam chases him on horseback for three days and three nights but every time he approaches Akvan, he conceals himself using magic. Finally when Rustam grows tired and falls asleep, Akvan cuts the piece of earth on which Rustam is resting, and lifts him up to the sky, asking him if he would like to be thrown on a mountain or into the sea. Knowing the demon’s evil ways fully well, Rustam asks to be thrown onto the mountain and as he had expected, he was thrown into the sea instead. He manages to save himself and locate his horse, Rakhsh after which he confronts Akvan once more. On this occasion he manages to snare him with a lasso and beheads him.

54

The moment in the story when Rustam is flung into the sea by Akvan, is depicted here by the painter. Rustam, who plays on the psyche of the Div and manipulates him, lands in water as he had hoped. He is shown reaching out for his sword as he intends to attack the Div. He is dressed in a tiger skin coat and a leopard helmet as per iconographic convention. He also wears elaborate armour, carries a shield under his arm, a sword and has a quiver full of arrows on his hip. The Div Akvan is shown as an ugly demon with long hair, blue eyes, black lips, an elephant’s head and a mouth full of tusks. His body is purple, his nails long, and he has horns on his head. He wears nothing but a bright orange skirt with a belt made of bells. Another large bell hangs on a chain around his neck

The artist has paid great attention to depicting the scene in line with the story and conformed to icono-graphic norms. The painting is composed in bright hues—oranges, greens and blues, which are a very Indian feature and noted in paintings from Kash-mir and the Punjab region in this period. The rocks hint at the pinkish Mughal type but have clearly undergone phases of evolution. The illustration of the scene occupies more than half of the page of this Shahnama manuscript. The poetry is written in black ink in four columns, in nasta’liq. These columns are separated by double inter-columnar divisions. The episode/ section heading, also in nasta’liq, is written in red at the centre above the painting. The entire composition, including the text and image, is framed by a thin gold border.

After the sacking of Delhi by Nadir Shah and the decline of Mughal power, artists from the court dispersed to many provincial centres. This period of the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century saw these artists assimilating the Mughal style with regional elements and the paintings of regions such as Kashmir and Punjab are testimony to this.

Provenance:

Private collection, UK, 1950s to 2015.

55

13 A battle between the Iranians and Turanians

Scene from the Shahnama, Kamus-i KashānīFrom a dispersed illustrated manuscript Late Mughal, Late 18th- early 19th century Kashmir or Punjab (perhaps Lahore)39 x 27 cm

Manuscripts of Firdausi’s Shahnama, the greatest epic poem of Iran started being made in India as early as the 15th century. The Mughal rulers who were bib-liophiles and also Persianised in many of their ways had luxurious manuscripts of the Shahnama com-missioned. The Mughal Court relocated to the valley of Kashmir every year in the summer. With imperial efforts, during the reign of Shah Jahan and the effort of individuals such as Zafar Khan ‘Ahsan’, a Mughal governor, Kashmir became a major centre for the production of illustrated manuscripts of Persian clas-sics, especially the Shahnama. This tradition carried on well into the late Mughal period, which is when this manuscript comes from.

The battle of Iran against Turan is one of the dom-inant themes of the Shahnama. A sizeable portion of the epic is filled with stories of the Iranian expe-ditions against Turan and the invasions by the Tur-anians to conquer the land of Iran. This is one such scene where the Iranians and Turanians are engaged in battle, and according to the story the Turanians use sorcery against the Iranians. The composition is a complex one with the scene divided into a fore-ground, a middle ground and a background. In each layer of this painting, there is action unfolding. A battle ensues between two soldiers on a hilly out-crop at the top of the frame, and below them men from both armies march towards each other with their camels and flags, as they beat drums and blow trumpets which signal the beginning of the battle. The inclusion of this element engages the viewer at another level as the sense of sound is evoked by this imagery.

58

The sky is overcast with grey rain clouds, which pour torrentially on the hilly landscape. The trees in the background are bent, as though swaying in the storm. This could be an artistic metaphor for the storm brewing on the battlefield. In the middle ground, the two armies led by their respective leaders on horses who are shown wearing crowns, approach each other from either side, creating the sense of converging at the centre.

This folio has a uniquely Indian, late-Mughal flavor in terms of its colour palette with bright hues of orange, greens and blues, and in the rendering of the figures. The Mughal influence can also be seen in the rocks, which originally derive from Persian painting, and the artist has painstakingly depicted a whole range of weapons being used in battle. The Shahna-ma is replete with scenes of battle and these are often depicted in great detail, and with a degree of anima-tion and some gruesome elements, as is the case in this folio. Severed heads and limbs, running horses, soldiers in combat with their swords and shields, are all techniques the artists has used to bring to life the scene of battle, and they make the intensity of the moment almost palpable. By this stage, painting, though not at its apogee as it was under the Great Mughals, has a degree of refinement and finesse. The folio could be from Kashmir or Punjab as this period was one when artists were travelling between places because of political unrest, and they took with them their established styles, which often interacted with those of the new places and became a mélange of the two.

The Shahnama remained popular through the centu-ries as a manual on just kingship. However its more enduring appeal lay in its core theme—the eternal strife between good and evil, which is a theme that has cut across regions, centuries and generations to fascinate and inspire all.

Provenance:

Private collection, UK, 1950s to 2015.

59

14 Ghulam Husayn Khan, an Afghan, withMunni Banu and her child

By a master artist working for William FraserFrom the Fraser AlbumDelhi, India, circa 182031 x 41.8 cm

The gifted East India company officer William Fraser was based around Delhi from 1806, when he em-ployed a painter to compile an exceptional visual and ethnographic record of the people and places. He worked as a revenue officer in the rural territories in the environs of the capital.

The group of superb images known as the Fraser album, include some of the finest company paintings. The master artist recruited by Fraser became a close member of his entourage and travelled with him un-derstanding his taste and requirement. He developed an individual style using transparent watercolour, elongated figures, stippling emphasizing the brush-strokes, and miniaturist attention to detail.

William Fraser is known to have read and spoken Hindustani and Persian, besides having more than one Indian wife. His diaries vividly inform us about his interactions with people and offer a glimpse of the extent lives of the Indian and British were inter-twined. A number of individuals portrayed in the album are people who worked for William, including ‘Ummee Chand’, his faithful servant who saved his life, dressed in the uniform of Skinner’s horse in a work now in the Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan collec-tion.

The sensitive portrait group of the Afghan family, he holds a bow and is dressed primarily in white. The painter’s skill at communicating the volume and detail of costume is striking. The woman and child form a vertical counterpoint in a bold composition-al form as the picture has a plain background. The detailing of her indigo sari is exquisitely painted with white highlights that delight the eye. There are highlights of gold on the ornaments worn by the sitters that add a layer of complexity to the restrained palette. Lines of text in nasta-liq calligraphy identify the subjects at the top of the leaf.

62

Published:

Archer and Falk. India Revealed: The Art and Adven-tures of James and William Fraser 1801-35. London, New York and Sidney: Cassell, 1989.

Reference:

Dalrymple, William and Sharma, Yuthika (eds.). Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi, 1707-1857. New York: Asia Society, in association with Yale Uni-versity Press, 2012.

Provenance:

William Fraser, thence by descent. Private Collection, London, 1984-2015.

63

15 Guru Gobind Singh

Family workshop of Nainsukh of GulerCirca 1790Opaque watercolour on paper20.5 x 14 cm

This painting comes from the finest known series of portraits depicting the Sikh Gurus. Published by W.G. Archer in his seminal work Paintings of the Sikhs in 1966, they are distinctive for their early style and attributable to an artist of the first generation after Nainsukh of Guler.

Together with his father Pandit Seu and brother Manaku, Nainsukh transformed the aesthetic of painting in the Pahari Hills. From the second quarter of the 18th century, he experimented with new de-grees of naturalism, combining observed portraiture and witty characterisation with an intensely lyrical approach to figure and form. The style of the follow-ing three paintings is so closely related to Nainsukh’s that they can be attributed to an artist who was trained in his family workshop.

This first generation, namely Manaku’s sons Fattu and Khushala and Nainsukh’s sons Kama, Gaudhu, Nikka and Ranjha, played a crucial role in dissemi-nating the style into other regional centres and were responsible for some of the most celebrated works in the history of Indian painting. It is well documented that Pahari artists sought Such patronage following the consolidation of Sikh power in the Hills. Sikh land registers confirm this, specifically mentioning the family of Nikka, Nainsukh’s third son. Nikka travelled to Chamba circa 1780 to work for Raja Raj Singh until the ruler’s death in 1794.

While no signed works have come to light, scholars have attributed a number of paintings to his name. These relate closely to this series of Sikh Gurus, prin-cipally in the facial types with soft, rounded features (exemplified here by the faces of the attendants),the delicate, masterful painting of hands, always con-sidered and elegantly positioned, and the preference for simple architectural settings, often incorporating a diagonal. Sikh land registers state that he went on to work for Sikh patrons in the plains and Lahore, where he died in 1833. Similarities in style and his connection to Sikh patrons suggest that Nikka could have been the artist responsible for this series.

66

approach to portraiture derives from the style of Na-insukh and was proliferated thereafter by his descen-dants, This example relates to paintings attributed to Chamba, which are likely to have been painted by Nikka, Nainsukh’s son, who moved there circa 1780.

But perhaps the focus of intensity and quiet dramatic power is in the gaze between the Guru and the white falcon he is holding. The falcon’s head is turned to the Guru, and a linear path is created between the falcon’s wide-open eye and the Guru’s mellow look, in a symbolic interchange that stands for power and nobility.

Guru Gobind Singh (1675-1708) was the tenth and last Guru. He fought for the establishment of an independent Sikh state and the liberation of the Sikhs from Mughal rule. He is particularly revered for instigating a revival in the Sikh faith, expounding the importance of the Guru Nanak’s teachings and the worship of the Granth. He established definitive customs, such as wearing an iron bracelet on the wrist (kara) and going unshaven (kesh), in addition to championing a new militant Sikhism. He was a revolutionary who instigated the Sikh rise to power, leading military campaigns until his murder at the hands of Muslim assassins in 1708.

Published:

Archer, W.G. Paintings of the Sikhs. London: 1966.

Provenance:

Private collection, New Zealand, 1966 to 2015.

References:

Archer, W.G. Paintings of the Sikhs. London: 1966.

Archer, W.G. Indian Painting of the Punjab Hills. London: Oxford University Press, 1973.

Goswamy, B.N and Eberhard Fischer. Pahari Masters: Court Painters of Northern India. Zurich: Artibus Asiae, 1992.

While it has previously been assumed that Sikh patronage of painting began in the Hills circa 1810, they had in fact been involved in the affairs of the Hills states from the mid 18th century onwards. This series of portraits, painted in a style closer to the late 18th century than the early 19th, confirms that Sikh patronage of painting existed at an earlier date. The naturalism of the figures, with well balanced, subtle features, smooth, soft lines and muted palette, is not found in Sikh portraits of the early 19th cen-tury, where forms become more angular, lines firmer and naturalism less apparent.

Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, is seated against an orange cushion while holding a falcon on his right hand. While that hand is covered by a brown leather glove, the Guru’s left hand is seen in a clenched fist, keeping hold of the delicate string that curves its way to the falcon’s paws. The Guru is wearing a green jama and a yellow and orange turban topped with a white feather.

He keeps a dagger tightly between his body and his belt, while a curved sword lies beside him, next to a black shield inlaid with gold. The delicately orna-mented pale yellow carpet on which the Guru is seat-ed is reflected in a contrasting manner by the dark curtain, also with floral motifs, that tops the picture. A white window also frames the compositions, invit-ing the viewer to look into the scene.

The landscape in the background is of minimal detail, creating a soothing light-blue sky in which only subtle red brushstrokes on top, and fine green horizontal lines in the bottom, somehow suggest a certain temporality and geography.

The smooth ambience that distinguishes this land-scape combines harmoniously with the subdued pal-ette and constrained decoration that mark the figures and objects in the foreground.

Particularly fine is the portrait of the attendant stand-ing behind the Guru, who is holding but now sway-ing a flywhisk as not to disturb the bird of prey. His expression is also one of devotion, with a slight smile and a tilted head towards the Guru. Through his wide, heavily lidded eyes and soft smile he exudes the very devotion that these portraits seek to inspire. His features are accurately balanced and made of harmo-nious curves. This intensely lyrical and idealised

67

16 A Pichhvai of Annakuta (Festival of Fifty-Six Offerings)

Nathdwara, Rajasthan, mid 19th centuryPigments on cotton, heightened with silver and gold195 x 133 cm

This fine pichhvai depicts the sanctum of the Sri-nathji temple at Nathdwara during the festival of Annakuta. Held during Kartik, the eighth lunar month (October-November), it commemorates the time when Krishna persuaded the villagers of Vraj to offer their harvest to Mount Govardhan, the source of their fertile soil, rather than Indra, the king of the demigods. As a result a furious Indra rained torren-tial storms upon the villagers, causing Krishna to lift the mountain to shelter them.

Annakuta is the largest annual festival at Nathdwara, with devotees bringing a feast of their harvest to the temple sanctum. A mound of rice if placed at Sri-nathji’s feet, as seen in the present painting, symbolic of the mountain and topped with five sweet cakes (gunja) representing Vishnu’s head and his four weapons. Goswamis (priests of the Pushi Marg) gath-er before him for darshan and women sit below, their heads covered with richly coloured shawls.

Vallabhacharya, the founder of the Pushti Marg, stands on the left of the icon and performs aarti. Brightly coloured hampers are lined up at Srinathji’s feet and further scenes of festivity are depicted at the bottom of the textile. A border made of individual depictions of the twenty-four utsavas (festivals) of Srinathji runs around the central composition.

Srinathji is joined by his other forms (swarupas), pictured as small icons placed alongside and beneath him. This refers to the time that the famous priest Dauji (1797-1826) brought all seven swarupas from their respective temples to Nathdwara. The ‘tree of life’ embroideries that hang behind Srinathji, encrust-ed with diamonds and pearls, were given to Dauji on this occasion and from then on became customary for the Annakuta festival.

70

This painting is an extremely fine example of the classic Nathdwara style. It demonstrates the quality of draughtsmanship and pigments that were em-ployed at the highest level of pichhvai production. The realism of the portraiture and the fine figure drawing is equivalent to that of miniature paint-ings, with a highly burnished surface and jewel-like pigments. The faces are sophisticated and developed, with soft modelling and smooth, elegant lines. Its fine condition allows the viewer to appreciate these details and to experience the sense of wonder that such a painting would have inspired in the heart and mind of the ardent devotee. Amongst this vivid landscape of ritual worship and festive celebration, Srinathji’s eyes pierce through vibrant orange and indigo blue, hypnotic and enchanting.

Reference:

Krishna, Kalyan. In Adoration of Krishna: Pichhwais of Shrinathji. Surat: Garden Silk Mills, 2007.

Provenance:

The Gujral Collection, Germany.

71

Raja Deen Dayal is celebrated for his pioneering effort in recording the landscapes, architecture and people of India with objectivity. His understanding of the land, his familiarity with its history, his awareness of its culture, all distinguished him from the major photographers of the late 19th century. His images go beyond the search for the characteristic and the “pic-turesque”; they do not aim to survey the land and its wealth but attempt to create a portrait of life in India. The variety in subject matter along with the quality of images makes Deen Dayal’s work unparalleled.

The present collection is a rare survivor of excep-tional images from heyday of his career in the years 1886-7. Comprehensively, they present a panoramic picture of his oeuvre and illustrate his talent as a bril-liant image-maker. His photograph of the picnic near Simla in 1887, the family portraits of the British in India, and the vivid images of the young Maharajas of Rewa and Gwalior conducting their daily activities are among the best of his career. It is believed this group of images was commissioned by a high -rank-ing British official.

Deen Dayal was born in 1844 in Sardana, near Meerut, in North India. After completing his educa-tion as a draughtsman, he started working as head estimator for the Public Work Department at Indore, Central India. It was here that he was introduced to photography. Deen Dayal’s first patron was the Maharaja of Indore, who appreciated his work and later introduced him to the British Agent Sir Henry Daly. Soon after his decision to take up photography as a profession, Deen Dayal was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to photograph the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, on his visit to Central India in 1875. The following year he was appointed pho-tographer to the Viceroy, Lord Dufferin. At this time, photography was still in its infancy in India – it was only after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 that photographic equipment had become available.

17 A Collection of 35 photographsby Raja Deen Dayal

Albumen printsCirca 1885Variable dimensions

(Additional images available upon request)

74

i His Highness Maharaja of Rewa

Between 1875 and 1885, Deen Dayal travelled exten-sively in the search for images, occasionally in the company of British agents, who were also patrons. In his memoir A Short Account of my Photographic Career, Deen Dayal states: “I accompanied Sir Hen-ry Daly on his tour of Bundelkhand photographing views and native chiefs. After his retirement, I was patronized by the successive Agent Governor Gen-erals of the Central India Agency”. During this time Deen Dayal began producing albums with images for the Maharajas and the British gentry. He is known to have carefully composed the albums with the inten-tion of conveying a truthful image of India.

Deen Dayal was the first photographer to capture magical visions of palace interiors and the lifestyle of Indian Royals. A turning point in his career was his appointment in 1884 as Court Photographer to Mahbub Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad, a ruler and visionary, known for the planning of his city and the translation of scientific texts into local languages. This was the first time that a Court Photographer re-placed a Court Painter; Dee Dayal was given the title of ‘Raja’ by the Nizam, in a gesture of appreciation and respect in 1894.

During his lifetime, Deen Dayal was recognised as the greatest photographer of India. The author of an article published in The Gentleman in the year 1897 thought “interesting that an India practitioner main-tained his place in the first rank of the profession”. At the time, Deen Dayal’s work was only partially understood for its technical and aesthetic qualities. Only today we are in a better position to comprehend the difficulty of creating images in a world where divergent forces and cultures were at work.

Provenance:

Private collection, UK, 1960s to 2015.

75

ii His Highness Maharaja of Rewa77

iii His Highness the Maharaja of Scindia

iv Maharaja of Rewa and classmates 82

v Maharaja of Rewa at Prayer 84

vi Ramkishore Singh of Rewa85

vii Mrs. and Miss Lyall, Simla 88

viii Badminton party at Mashobra, Simla, 28. 5. 87 90

92

xix Treacher and Cos shop in the fort Bombay 94

Bibliography

Archer, W.G. Paintings of the Sikhs. London: 1966.

Archer, W.G. Indian Painting of the Punjab Hills. London: Oxford University Press, 1973.

Aitken, Molly Emma. ‘Sahib Ram’ in Milo Beach, Eberhard Fischer, B.N. Goswamy, Masters of Indian Painting. Zurich: Artibus Asiae Publishers, 2011.

Aitken, Molly Emma. The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010.

Aitken, Molly Emma. When Gold Blossoms, Jewel-lery for Gods and Goddesses: The Susan Beningson Collection. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd, 2004.

Ambalal, Amit. Krishna as Srinathji. Ahmedabad: Mapin, 1987.

Bala Krishnan, Usha R. and Meera Sushil Kumar. Dance of the Peacock: Jewellery Traditions of India. Mumbai: India Book House Ltd, 2001.

Beach, Milo. The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India 1600-1660. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute: 1st Edition, 1978.

Beach, Milo. Rajasthani Painters Bagta and Chokha: Master Artists at Devgarh. Zurich: Artibus Asiae Publishers, 2005.

Beach, Milo. Eberhard Fischer, B.N. Goswamy. Mas-ters of Indian Painting. Zurich: Artibus Asiae Pub-lishers, 2011.

Beach, Milo. The Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court. Gujurat: Mapin Publishing Ltd, 2012.

Brend, Barbara. The Emperor Akbar’s Khamsa of Nizami. London: British Library, 1995.

Bubbar, Prahlad. Pleasures of the Princes: Indian Paintings 1600- 1900. London: Prahlad Bubbar, 2011.

Krishna, Kalyan. In Adoration of Krishna: Pichhwais of Shrinathji. Surat: Garden Silk Mills, 2007.

Mitter, Partha, Akshaya Tankha, Suryanandini Sinha & Rahaab Allana. The Artful Pose: Early Studio Photography in Mumbai (c.1855-1940). Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing, 2010.

Okada, Amina. Imperial Mughal Painters: Indian Miniatures from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Cen-turies. Paris: Flammarion, 1992.

Pal, Pratapaditya. The Arts of Kashmir. New York: Asia Society, 2007.

Pande, Alke. Andhanarishvara the Androgyne, Prob-ing the Gender Within. New Delhi: Rupa & Co, 2004.

Parikh, Rachael. ‘Śiva Riding a Composite Bull: Comprehending Hindu Composite Illustrations.’ Orientations (Vol. 44, No. 4, May 2013).

Penn, Christopher. The Nicholas Brothers and A.T. W. Penn: Photographers of South India 1855-1885. London: Bernard Quaritch Ltd, 2014.

Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie. ‘From the Fifth Vizier’s Sto-ry to the Gifts of Timur: Mughal Paintings by Srava-na in The Cleveland Museum of Art’ in Orientations (Vol. 44, No. 8, Nov/Dec 2013).

Roy, Malini and J.P. Losty. Mughal India: Art Culture and Empire. London: British Library, 2012.

Seyller, John and Mittal, Jagdish. Pahari Paintings in the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art. Hyderabad: Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art, 2014.

Seyller, John. Mughal and Deccani Paintings: The Eva and Konrad Seitz Collection of Indian Miniatures. Zurich: Museum Reitburg, 2001.

Dalrymple, William and Yuthika Sharma. Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi, 1707-1857. New York: Asia Society, in association with Yale University Press, 2012.

Dehejia, Vidya, ed. India Through the Lens: Photog-raphy 1840-1911. Washington D.C.: Freer Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2000.

Dewan, Depali & Deborah Hutton. Raja Deen Dayal: Artist-Photographer in 19th century India. Ahmed-abad: Mapin Publishing & The Alkazi Collection of Photography, 2013.

Goswamy, B. N. Nainsukh of Guler: A Great Indian Painter from a Small Hill State. New Delhi: Niyogi Books, 2011.

Goswamy, B. N. Essence of Indian Art. San Francis-co: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1986.

Goswamy, B.N and Eberhard Fischer. Pahari Masters: Court Painters of Northern India. Zurich: Artibus Asiae, 1992.

Goswamy, Karuna. Kashmiri Painting. Shimla: Indi-an Institute of Advance Study, 1998.

Haidar, Navina Najat and Sardar, Marika. Sultans of Deccan India 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.

Hutton, Deborah. ‘The Portrait Photography of Raja Deen Dayal’, in Bubbar, Prahlad, ed. Indian Paintings & Photographs: 1590-1900. London: Prahlad Bubbar, 2012.

Johnson, Robert Flynn. Reverie and Reality: 19th Century Photographs of India from the Ehrenfeld Collection. San Francisco: Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, 2003.

Kramrisch, Stella. Manifestations of Shiva. Philadel-phia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1981.

Stronge, Susan. A Golden Treasury: Jewellery from the Indian Subcontinent. London: Victoria and Al-bert Museum, 1988.

Stronge, Susan. Painting for the Mughal Emperor. London: V&A Publications, 2002.

Taylor, Roger and Branfoot, Crispin. Captain Linnae-us Tripe: Photographer of India and Burma, 1852-1860. Washington: National Gallery of Art, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Munich, London and New York: Delmonico Books • Prestel, 2014.

Thomas, G. A History of Photography in India, 1840-1980. Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh State Akademi of Photography, 1981.

Topsfield, Andrew. Court Painting at Udaipur: Art Under the Patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar. Zurich: Artibus Asiae Publishers, 2001.

Topsfield, Andrew. The City Palace Museum Udai-pur. Ahmedabad: Mapin, 1990.

Verma, Som Prakash. Mughal Painters and Their Work: A Biographical Survey and Comprehensive Catalogue. New Delhi: OUP, 1994.

Worswick, Clark, and Aisnlie Embree. The Last Em-pire: Photography in British India, 1855–1911. New York: Aperture, 1976.

Zebrowski, Mark. Deccani Painting. London: Sothe-by Publications, Berkeley and Los Angeles: Universi-ty of California Press, 1983.

Zebrowski, Mark. Gold, Silver & Bronze from Mu-ghal India. London: Alexandria Press, in association with Laurence King, 1997.

9695

Prahlad BubbarIndian and Islamic Art

33 Cork Street Mayfair,London W1S 3NQ+44 (0)20 7494 3144www.prahladbubbar.cominfo@prahladbubbar.com

First Published on the occasion of the exhibition:

INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTINGS AND MASTERS OF 19TH CENTURY PHOTOGRAPHY:RECENT ACQUISITIONSAsia Week New York10 - 19 March, 2016

Published by Prahlad Bubbar Ltd. LondonAll text and images copyright © 2016 Prahlad BubbarGraphic Design by Miguel Pacheco