
Matthew Thomas
Senior Specialist
Sold for £1,020 inc. premium
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Senior Specialist
Provenance
Gunter Heil Collection, Berlin, before 1991-2016.
The inscription reads: sri dvarkesji.
The priest belongs to the Vallabhacharya sect of Vaishnavism, which was founded by Vallabhacharya (1479-1531) around the idol of Sri Nath-Ji. As a result of the persecution instigated by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the shrine of the cult was moved and eventually found sanctuary at Nathdwara in 1671. Other images of the idol were scattered around Rajasthan and Gujarat. The one found at Kankroli is named Dwarkadhishaji, and therefore the priest's name seen in the inscription on this painting may mean that he is the head priest there: alternatively, it may be simply his personal name. Various members of the royal dynasties of Rajasthan became devotees of the cult in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
He bears the Vaishnava tilak on his forehead, and holds a religious manuscript in his left hand, while raising a single leaf from it in his right. The text visible on that leaf reads [s]ruti sri ekadasa skamda namani, 'the honourable Book 11'.