Lot 84
AN ILLUSTRATION TO THE MAHABHARATA
INDIA, DECCAN, MAHARASHTRA, CIRCA 1840
Auction: 10 June 2026 from 14:00 BST
Description
gouache on paper heightened in gold, a ruler with a consort receiving two warriors in a pavilion, a female attendant standing to the right; verso a warrior with his consort firing spears from a chariot towards an army of female warriors
Footnote
For many decades these types of illustrations to the Mahabharata with their strong primary colours were thought to have been painted at Paithan after the father-in-law of the collector D.G. Kelkar (died circa 1990) received as a payment, eight hundred illustrations to the series from a client living in Paithan, a town in Maharashtra. However, later research shows that the paintings are from Pinguli, a small town, also in Maharashtra, further south on the coast of Goa. Artists from Pinguli are well-known for painting illustrations to the Mahabharata and for puppetry too. For further discussion and comparisons see: A.L. Dallapiccola, South Indian Paintings - A Catalogue of the British Museum Collections, London, 2010, pp. 278-295; Christie's, The Collection of Paul F. Walter, New York, 28 September, 2017, lot 644; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession no. 1987.424.12; These rooms, Islamic & Indian featuring paintings from the Collection of Wiliam and Mildred Archer, sale in these rooms, 12 June, 2024, lot 110; Emily Hannam et al, Beyond the Page South Asian Miniatures and Britain, 1600 to now, Milton Keynes Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, London, 2023, no. 68.