AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A RAGAMALA SERIES: DESAKH RAGINI
INDIA, RAJASTHAN, KOTAH, CIRCA 1760
£3,276
Auction: 11 June 2025 from 10:00 BST
Description
gouache on paper, red border, 4 lines of text in nagari script against a yellow ground above, depicting five gymnasts performing acrobatics around a central pole, two of the gymnasts balancing on the pole, including a female acrobat dressed in blue trousers at the top of a pole, whilst three in the foreground are showing off their strength in various poses, on a green ground with a line of plantain trees at top
Dimensions
40.1cm x 26cm
Provenance
Private UK collection.
Footnote
This liveliest of ragamala illustrations brings together the physical strength of the five gymnasts using the vibrant colours of Rajasthani painting. Figures performing upside down on a central pole and defying gravity was a popular act at village fairs around India. In this particular painting you can almost hear the gasps of the onlookers. For further discussion and another illustration of this subject see: E. and R.L. Waldschmidt, Miniatures of Musical Inspiration Part II, Ragamala - Pictures from Northern India and the Deccan, Berlin, 1975, and; C. Glynn, R. Skelton and A. Dallapiccola, Ragamala, Paintings from India from the Claudio Moscatelli Collection, London, 2011, no.10.
For another illustration from the same series, entitled Asavari Ragini sold at Christie's, see Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Rugs and Carpets, 24 October 2024, lot 161. This painting and our painting share the same bright colours, composition and size.