From our Indian Subcontinent Collection, a superb contemporary Indian miniature painting, executed in a colorful but subdued palette of red, green, purple, and blue, with a lavish use of gilt highlights and detailing.
Ordinarily we prefer only the antique miniatures, but we thought this one was so well-done that we made an exception. Often painted with single-haired sable brushes or their equivalent, some of the de... Click for details
Pair of Indian Miniature Botanical Prints with Lily Bulbs on border margins, lily in central panel of one, tomato in other, gold leaf in background, newly painted images on manuscript paper 18th-19th century, waterstained and patched areas. Print Size: 6" Width 9.75" Height, framed.
19th century Indian miniature painting of seated woman in palace garden next to a fountain, Jaipur School, early 1800s, some overall wear to pigment, size: 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/4 inches picture size, some reflections from framed glass.
A beautiful Pichhwai, temple painting, of Radha and Krishna in the Garden, Kishangarh Style of the 18th century, this Hindu scene of the God Krishna and his beautiful consort, the Goddess Radha takes place in a lush garden. The sacred mountain rises up behind them and as the two figures embrace at the opening to a cave.
At the top of the mountain sits a white palace and the sky is filled with 6 bird-shaped celestial chariots toward the it. On the mountain side and in the garden below are man... Click for details
Details: A rare and fascinating example of a late 18th century Jaina Tantric diagram from Rajasthan. The esoteric diagram is illustrating the eternal recurrence of the sevenfold divisions of the universe as a cosmic river of time and reality, from a manuscript of the Samarangana Sutra Dhara (A classical Indian encyclopedic work on Indian architecture written by Paramara King Bhoja of Dhar 1000-1055 AD).
Details: A decorative and very pretty example of a Picchvai of Krishna as Sri Nathji from Rajasthan, India. Sri Nathji is wearing some ornate beaded necklaces and a lotus garland over his grey and green Chakdarwagha. Below the Sanskrit text, upon his head is a large peacock feather headdress and he is holding the lakut (cow herder's stick) and a lotus in his right hand. The image is backed by a patterned grey background, with the golden Pandan box, betel leaves and a covered pitcher of holy ... Click for details
A drawing by contemporary Kishangarh artist Yagya Prakash copies the form of an 18th century painting attributed to Nihal Chand, an artist in the court of Kishangarh Maharajah Sawant Singh. The distinctive Kishangarh School of miniature painting, characterized by elegantly elongated people with pointed chins and long stylized eyes under drooping eyelids, developed in the early 1700s under the patronage of this 10th ruler of Kishangarh. Frequently portrayed as seen here, are Radha, the beautiful... Click for details
A Rajasthani botanical miniature on handmade paper by Bikaner artist Raju Swami is green and gold with deep gold flowers shading to orange/red. An exotic white butterfly hovers over the meticulously veined flowers. Bikaner, a remote walled desert town in western India, has a miniaturist tradition in both Mughal and Rajasthani styles. This artist, who grinds his own mineral colors and makes his own brushes that sometimes consist of only a few squirrel hairs, produces particularly fine botanicals.... Click for details
A miniature painted and signed by Bikaner artist Raju Swami contemplates a man spinning thread. Done in soft blues, greens and browns, the study is in Bikaner style, and is soft and quiet. The man crouches on the ground, stares pensively at the cotton in his hand, and appears to be thinking thoughts thousands of miles removed from his task. The miniature, signed lower right, is in perfect condition. Dimensions overall: height 7" (18 cm), width 5" (12 cm). Dimensions of image: height 6-1/4" (16 c... Click for details
A miniature from Mandawa in the Shekhawati Region of Rajasthan is focused on just one subject--a kneeling musician. The single subject and muted colors demonstrate differences between Indian miniature schools of painting that were heavily influenced by Mughal style and those that were not. Here there are no strong Mughal colors, intricate patterns of scrolling and textiles, flowers, birds and people filling the space. By contrast, the soft brown tones and space in this Mandawa piece give it a qu... Click for details
