Object Details
Patron
Rao Raja Bhoj Singh (reign 1585-1607)
Artist
Shaykh Husain
Shaykh Ali
Shaykh Hatim
Court
Bundi Court
School/Tradition
Rajput school
Label
This painting belongs to a ragamala (garland of ragas, or musical modes), which forms a unique genre that may be termed "pictorial music." Musical modes are visualized as male ragas or female raginis. They correspond to varying emotional states and are associated with specific times of day or seasons of year.
Here, a dark-skinned woman sits alone on a rocky outcrop where scorpions play, beside a lotus pond teeming with fish, ducks, and geese. In testimony to her harmony with the natural world, the woman holds a snake in one hand and offers it a morsel, while several other snakes descend from the surrounding trees and move out of the foliage toward her. The inscription above the painting identifies her as Asavari ragini, a muscial mode of lonely longing that very likely originated some fifteen hundred years ago among tribal snake charmers.
Provenance
1591-?
Rao Raja Bhaj Singh (reign 1585-1607), commissioned from the artists Shaikh Hasan, Shaikh Ali, and Shaikh Hatim in India [1]
? - at least between 1967-1968
Ownership information unknown
At least between 1967 -1968 - ?
Sital Das, method of acquisition unknown [2]
?-1984
Ownership information unknown
1984
Sale, London, England, Christie's, sale #3022, "Islamic, Indian, South-east Asian Manuscripts, Miniatures, and Works of Art," November 22-23, 1984, lot 181 [3]
1984-1985
Michael Goedhuis, Ltd. (established 1980), London, England, purchased at November 22-23, 1984, Christie's Sale, London, England on behalf of the Freer Gallery of Art [4]
From 1985
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Michael Goedhuis, Ltd. [5]
Notes:
[1] See Christie's, "Islamic, Indian, South-east Asian Manuscripts, Miniatures, and Works of Art" [auction catalogue], (London: Christie's, November 22-23, 1984), lot 181, illustrated (recto and verso).
[2] See unaddressed letter from Milo Beach, dated February 18, 1986, copy in object file. Beach states, “I saw the pages [F1985.2 and F1985.3] in India in 1967-68, when the owner allowed me to photograph the works. Returning to India in 1971 and attempting to see them again, I was told that they were no longer available and my distinct impression was that they had left India. I do not know of anyone who saw the paintings anywhere after my 1967-68 visit.”
See also Kanta Talukdar’s newspaper article from “The Telegraph” (London: March 16, 1986), copy in object file. Kanta Talukdar reported that the owner was Sital Das.
Sital Das is a jeweler and collector in Delhi, India.
[3] See note 1.
[4] See object file for copy of Michael Goedhuis, Ltd. invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, undated (ca. December 1984), and marked approved on December 12, 1984.
Michael Goedhuis, Ltd. in London, England was established in 1980. Michael Goedhuis began his professional involvement in the art world in 1975 when he joined Jacob Rothschild’s firm Colnaghi (established 1760), specializing in Persian, Mughal and Islamic art. After establishing his own firm, Goedhuis expanded his dealing activities to include Indian, Japanese, and Chinese art. In 1981, Goedhuis purchase the name “Colnaghi Oriental” from Rothchild and utilized the name in advertisements for his firm.
[5] See note 4.
Research updated September 11, 2023
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History
The Natural World in Indian Painting (September 4, 1996 to May 17, 1997)
South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)
The Arts of South Asia (May 13, 1985 to December 2, 1985)
Previous custodian or owner
Sital Das
Michael Goedhuis, Ltd. (established 1980)
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Date
1591
Period
, Reign of Rao Raja Singh
Accession Number
F1985.3
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Painting
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 20.5 x 11 cm (8 1/16 x 4 5/16 in)
Origin
Chunar, Uttar Pradesh state, India
Related Online Resources
Google Arts & Culture
See more items in
National Museum of Asian Art
Data Source
National Museum of Asian Art
Topic
fish
duck
goose
snake
music
Hada dynasty
ragamala
yogini
India
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Link to Original Record
Record ID
fsg_F1985.3