Lot n° 166
Estimation :
8000 - 12000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 24 320EUR
Young prince in conversation with sages and... - Lot 166 - Ader
Young prince in conversation with sages and mystics, India, probably Lucknow, 19th century
A nim qalam drawing in ink heightened with color and gold on an album page depicting a group of men gathered around a master on the terrace of a pavilion in çinikhaneh on the riverbank. The master, with a long white beard, a scroll in his hand and books in front of him, seems to be captivating his audience, listening to the sound of a tambourine and a saz while sitting or lying down. In the background, behind the river that borders the pavilion, men are busy on the bank built with Western-style architecture under a stormy sky. The scene is framed by two colored paper borders with gold-painted vegetal decoration and a wide white margin painted with brightly colored poppies on a gold speckled background. An inscription in black ink in the margin surrounded by a band with geometric gold decoration. On the reverse, a calligraphic composition of six lines of Persian nasta'liq in black ink, each line surrounded by fine floral decorations forming poly-lobed cartouches. Double frieze of colored paper painted with a floral decoration in gold. Annotations in black ink on the passe-partout.
Dim. page : 52,4 x 37,3 cm ; dim. painting : 21,2 x 15,6 cm ; dim. calligraphy : 16,4 x 8,6 cm
Slight damages, traces of adhesive and tearing on the reverse.
The subject of meetings of sages and mystics is particularly widespread in Indian painting. Govardhan, a great Mughal painter who worked in the service of Akbar and later Shah Jahan, executed some very fine examples. For a patron, this subject is a way to attest his faith and spirituality. This painting is mounted on an album page whose margins are covered with poppy flowers repeated over the entire surface. This kind of flowers, but also the technique of producing the margins, are characteristic of Lucknow's production in the second half of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. Identical margins but involving a different floral species were observed on a page sold at Christie's New York, in the sale 'Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence' on June 19, 2019, lot 385. The two pages were probably part of the same album.
The combination of large, brightly colored floral margins and a gathering of sages depicted in heightened drawing form is found on a page in the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto (AKM 498).
A Young Prince in Conversation with Sages and Mystics, India, probably Lucknow, 19th century
Private collection in Paris from 1975 to 2000 - first part (lots 120 to 173).
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