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This folio depicts Krishna as the
nayak
, seated at the
centre, being entertained by a group of musicians. A young
prince is seated to his right and an attendant holding a
chauri
hands him a garland. Heaps of colour lie in platters
between the figures and all of them, including the terrace
foreground, are smeared with colour. The scene suggests
that they have all returned from playing
Holi
and are now
settling down to a round of music. This highly layered
composition brings together music, festival and social
commentary.
Raga Basant
is an evening
raga
but during
Spring season, known as
Basant
, it can be performed at
any time of the day. As a result, it lends itself extremely
well to the occasion of the colourful festivities of the
Spring festival of
Holi
. The cool blue sky is characteristic
of Bikaner painting of this period, while the Shah Jahani
turbans and sashes, or
patkas,
indicate a synthesis of the
Mughal and Rajasthani idioms. The detailed foliage in the
background is also rendered in the Mughal style while
the lush green tree behind the attendant has a Deccani
flavour.
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RAGINI BASANT
OF RAGA SRI
PROVINCIAL MUGHAL / BIKANER,
CIRCA 1660
Inscribed in Nagari ‘sri raga ki ragini
vasant’ on the reverse
Gouache on paper heightened
with gold
Image: 5.75 x 4 in (15.2 x 10.4 cm)
Folio: 11.5 x 8.25 in (29.4 x 21.4 cm)
Rs 35,00,000 ‒ 45,00,000
$ 52,240 - 67,165
NON‒EXPORTABLE
REGISTERED ANTIQUITY
PROVENANCE
The Motichand Khajanchi Collection
Detail of inscription on reverse