
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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International Director
A noble warrior clad in a lilac robe mounts his magnificent white steed with wispy mane and tail. Wearing yellow boots with red floral embellishments, he plants his right foot firmly on the olive ground while lifting his left leg to the stirrup as he hoists himself up by grasping both sides of the aquamarine saddle. His groom stands by in stoic command of the prized stallion, gripping its reigns tightly with his left hand, and holding a white rope in his right that may have tethered the horse to the tree providing them with shade.
The leaves are cleverly composed of two shades of green: a light sage for the lower branches to blend with the olive background, and a piquant aquamarine for the upper branches to lead the eye up in a sweeping diagonal from the attendant's trousers, over the saddle, and towards the sky.
This miniature is from a dispersed album once in the Mandi royal collection, consisting of various Hindu and Rajput subjects, such as ragamalas and avatars, produced by a single studio. Whereas they had previously been thought to stem from Bilaspur, Glynn has recently reattributed them to the court of Chamba (see, Glynn et al., Ragamala, London, 2011, p.34).
Four folios from this series in the Kronos Collection are published in McInerney et al., Divine Pleasures New York, 2016, p.142-9, nos.45-8. Other paintings from the same series were sold at Sotheby's, New York, 23 May 2006, lots 86-92; 29 March 2006, lots 164, 165, 167 & 168; and more recently at Christie's, London, 25 April 2013, lot 184; Christie's, South Kensington, 10 June 2013, lots 2-7; and Christie's, New York, 18 September 2013, lot 357A.
Published
Simon Ray Ltd, Indian & Islamic Art, London, 2007, no.44.
Provenance
Royal Mandi Collection
Private German Collection
Sotheby's, New York, 29 March 2006, lot 166
Simon Ray Ltd, London, 26 February 2007