AN ILLUSTRATION FROM THE MAHABHARATA: THE SAGE MARKANDEYA'S VISION OF THE INFANT KRISHNA FLOATING ON A BANYAN LEAF
INDIA, PUNJAB HILLS, KANGRA, CIRCA 1830
Estimate: £1,200 - £1,800
Auction: 11 June 2025 from 10:00 BST
Description
gouache and gold on paper, dark blue border, depicting a large banyan tree rising from the ocean with five leaves and its orange fruit, the infant Krishna is lying on one of the leaves joyfully sucking his toe whilst the sage Markandeya is dressed in white with his frail and aged body standing on a leaf holding a parasol and worshipping before the infant Krishna, mounted, glazed and framed
Dimensions
sight size 20cm x 15.5cm
Provenance
Private UK collection.
Footnote
For comparison and further discussion about this emotive religious subject of Krishna floating in a cosmic ocean see: Philadelphia Museum of Art , accession no. 1955-11-1, and; Christie's , An Eye Enchanted: Indian Paintings from the Collection of Toby Falk, 27 October, 2023, lot 95.