Skip to main content
Bonhams
Search

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

A rare Chinese group of the Tyrolean Dancers, Qianlong period, circa 1752
FOUR CHINESE YIXING WARES Late Qing dynasty - 20th century

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

FIVE BURMESE AND THAI GILTWOOD FIGURES OF BUDDHA Late 19th/20th century
TWO JAPANESE CELADON GLAZED STUDIO CERAMICS
Huang Shanshou (1855-1919) Dragons in Clouds
Birodo Yuzen Meiji era (1868-1912)
TWO JAPANESE BRONZE SCHOLAR'S OBJECTS Meiji/Taisho era
A KOREAN UNDERGLAZE-BLUE AND COPPER-RED-DECORATED 'GRAPEVINE' GLOBULAR JAR Late Joseon dynasty
A JAPANESE SIX-PANEL 'FARM SCENE' FOLDING SCREEN Late 19th/early 20th century
A KOREAN FOUR-PANEL 'PEONIES AND CALLIGRAPHY' FOLDING SCREEN Late Joseon dynasty
AN INSIDE-PAINTED ROCK CRYSTAL 'LADIES' SNUFF BOTTLE, SIGNED YE ZHONGSAN 1919
A CHINESE YELLOW GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE 19th century
A FAMILLE-ROSE ENAMELED PORCELAIN COVERED BALUSTER JAR 18th/19th century
A PAINTED LACQUERED-WOOD FOUR-DOOR CABINET Early 20th century
Previous Lot
Next Lot
AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A MAHABHARATA SERIES: ABHIMANYU PIERCES THE KAURAVA BATTLE FORMATION AT KURUKSHETRA GARHWAL, CIRCA 1820 image 1
AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A MAHABHARATA SERIES: ABHIMANYU PIERCES THE KAURAVA BATTLE FORMATION AT KURUKSHETRA GARHWAL, CIRCA 1820 image 2
AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A MAHABHARATA SERIES: ABHIMANYU PIERCES THE KAURAVA BATTLE FORMATION AT KURUKSHETRA GARHWAL, CIRCA 1820 image 3
AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A MAHABHARATA SERIES: ABHIMANYU PIERCES THE KAURAVA BATTLE FORMATION AT KURUKSHETRA GARHWAL, CIRCA 1820 image 4
AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A MAHABHARATA SERIES: ABHIMANYU PIERCES THE KAURAVA BATTLE FORMATION AT KURUKSHETRA GARHWAL, CIRCA 1820 image 5
Lot 834

AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A MAHABHARATA SERIES:
ABHIMANYU PIERCES THE KAURAVA BATTLE FORMATION AT KURUKSHETRA
GARHWAL, CIRCA 1820

Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art
23 July 2020, 10:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$13,825 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A MAHABHARATA SERIES:
ABHIMANYU PIERCES THE KAURAVA BATTLE FORMATION AT KURUKSHETRA

GARHWAL, CIRCA 1820
Opaque watercolor on paper heightened with gold; verso with identifying inscriptions in white pigment for each leader of the Pandava and Kaurava factions.
Image: 11 3/4 x 16 3/4 in. (29.8 x 42.5 cm);
Folio: 12 5/8 x 17 5/8 in. (32 x 44.8 cm)

Footnotes

After several days of battle, and Bhishma's death, the Kaurava army is now led by Drona, seen in his chariot near the painting's center. Drona arranges his forces into the almost-impenetrable "chakra" battle formation (Chakravyuha), which appears like a circle from above, as captured by the artist. Abhimanyu, 3rd son of Arjuna, and the most beloved of all the Pandavas' sons, knew how to break into a Chakravyuha, but not how to break out. Now that his arrow and his chariot bear down on Drona, is Abhimanyu trapped? The remaining Pandava factions, pictured on the right, have not been to follow him in, being kept at bay by Jayadratha, near the bottom center, leading the Kaurava's vanguard.

The variance in scale of the painting's figures, and its open battleground devoid of floral exuberances, are idiomatic of late Pahari epic battle scenes. The painting most likely of the subsequent scene from the same series was at Sotheby's, New York, 26 March 2003, lot 129. For other examples in the series, see Sotheby's, New York, 22 March 1989, lot 168; Sotheby's, New York, 15 December 1978, lot 180; Sotheby's, New York, 14 December 1979, lot 224.

Provenance
RE Lewis, San Francisco, 12 January 1979
Estate of William and Josephine Roth (1916-2014), San Francisco

Additional information

Bid now on these items

A rare Chinese group of the Tyrolean Dancers, Qianlong period, circa 1752
FOUR CHINESE YIXING WARES Late Qing dynasty - 20th century
FIVE BURMESE AND THAI GILTWOOD FIGURES OF BUDDHA Late 19th/20th century
TWO JAPANESE CELADON GLAZED STUDIO CERAMICS
Huang Shanshou (1855-1919) Dragons in Clouds
Birodo Yuzen Meiji era (1868-1912)
TWO JAPANESE BRONZE SCHOLAR'S OBJECTS Meiji/Taisho era
A KOREAN UNDERGLAZE-BLUE AND COPPER-RED-DECORATED 'GRAPEVINE' GLOBULAR JAR Late Joseon dynasty
A JAPANESE SIX-PANEL 'FARM SCENE' FOLDING SCREEN Late 19th/early 20th century
A KOREAN FOUR-PANEL 'PEONIES AND CALLIGRAPHY' FOLDING SCREEN Late Joseon dynasty
AN INSIDE-PAINTED ROCK CRYSTAL 'LADIES' SNUFF BOTTLE, SIGNED YE ZHONGSAN 1919
A CHINESE YELLOW GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE 19th century
A FAMILLE-ROSE ENAMELED PORCELAIN COVERED BALUSTER JAR 18th/19th century
A PAINTED LACQUERED-WOOD FOUR-DOOR CABINET Early 20th century