Francesca Galloway

Gambhira putra , fourth ‘son’ of Sri Raga, from a Ragamala series

North Deccan, c. 1630-50
Opaque pigments and gold on paper
Folio: 33 x 27 cm
Painting: 29 x 22.5 cm including yellow border

Inscribed on the back in Persian in nasta‘liq:
ganbhir rāg pūtr-i srī rāg chahārum
Gambhira Ragaputra of Sri Raga. Fourth

For another interpretation of Gambhira Raga see the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, acc. no. 17.2790
(https://collections.mfa.org/objects/149195)

This eccentric but important series of Ragamala paintings have only recently been the subject of study, initially by Robert Skelton, and more recently by JP Losty. There is some stylistic debt to the dispersed and equally enigmatic North Deccan Ragamala of the late 16th century (Zebrowski 1983, nos 24-31 and Haidar and Sardar 2015, no. 13). The provenance of our series to the Northern Deccan in the first half of the 17th century seems certain. The spectacular and unusual colour combination is typical of the Deccan but the architecture can be found in Popular Mughal and early Rajasthani paintings which points to a hybrid style – a Hindu patron with links to the Rajput elements in the Mughal armies fighting in the Deccan, initially based at Burhanpur for the assault on Ahmadnagar and then at Aurangabad for that on Bijapur. JP Losty proposes a Rajput patron based at Aurangabad, perhaps specifically the main raga type in our series, the man with a small moustache and a wispy beard (JP Losty, 2022, p. 54).

The series uses the Ragamala system established by Kshemakarna, the court poet of Rewa in Bundelkhand, where he wrote his Ragamala in 1570. In his system each of the six ragas has five wives and eight sons, our painting representing Sri Raga’s fourth son, Gambhira putra, who is usually identified by riding a sea monster.

Literature

Haidar, N. and Sardar, M., Sultans of Deccan India: Opulence and Fantasy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2015

Losty, J.P., ‘A Ragamala Series from the North Deccan’ in Court, Epic, Spirit – Indian Art 15^th-19^th century, Francesca Galloway & Luhring Augustine, 2022

Skelton, R., ‘Ragamalas in the Deccan and what happens when ragas migrate without their texts’ in Glynn, C. et al, Ragamala Paintings from India from the Claudio Moscatelli Collection, Philip Wilson, 2011

Zebrowski, M., Deccani Painting, Sotheby Publications, University of California Press, London and Los Angeles, 1983

Francesca Galloway

Vishnu and Shri Embracing

Drawing from a set of preparatory drawings for the ‘Second Guler’ or ‘Tehri-Garhwal’ Gitagovinda
Original outlines attributed to Nainsukh, c. 1765, with additions by his sons and nephews
Brush drawing in red sanguine and dark brown with pink-yellow wash
Folio: 19 x 28 cm

Inscribed on the reverse in Devanagari with the Sanskrit text of Jayadeva’s Gitagovinda I, 25, and a Pahari paraphrase, and the folio number 24 above and another number 21 below.

Although the couple engaged in a passionate embrace would seem to be Krishna and Radha, the verse that this erotic coupling illustrates is in fact from the first canto of Jayadeva’s Gitagovinda, the last verse of a paean to Vishnu as the preserver
of the world:

“As he rests in Shri’s embrace, on the soft slope of her breast, The saffroned chest of Madhu’s killer is stained with red marks of passion And sweat from fatigue of tumultuous loving. May his broad chest bring you pleasure too!”
(translation Miller 1977/1984, p. 73)

The god’s crown without the peacock finial always worn by Krishna in this series, also absent in the finished painting, serves to tell us that this is in fact Vishnu not Krishna. The drawing does not quite correspond to the text, for it is Vishnu who is supporting Shri in their post-coital embrace, with one hand behind her back and the other holding her wrist as she clings to his shoulder. Her other hand is pulling back her orhni from her forehead the better to gaze into his eyes in this moment of tender intimacy. The drawing is from a set of preparatory drawings for the ‘Second Guler’ Gitagovinda, now dispersed. They all have the Sanskrit text of the poem on the reverse together with a commentary/paraphrase in a Pahari dialect. Here the text is obviously relevant to the drawing on the other side, although that is not universally so in this set of drawings. The finished painting for this drawing is in the Kronos collection in New York (McInerney 2016, no. 81).

Two earlier pages of sketches apparently noting down Nainsukh’s first thoughts on how Radha should appear in this set have survived, in the Museum Rietberg and the National Museum, New Delhi (Goswamy 1997, nos. 98 and 99). Each has three or four drawings of Radha in various postures, while the beginning of the Sanskrit verse of the Gitagovinda relevant to the drawing is written on the other side. In the next stage in the preparation of the set, i.e. the stage represented by our drawing, Nainsukh worked out the rough outline of the contents of each painting. A very free preliminary broad outline of the subject in red sanguine was done, noting the position of the loving couple and the broad outline of the landscape. Next came the addition of a light yellow wash over the underdrawing of the figures, intended as a ground for the finer drawing of outlines in deep brown achieved with firmer and more precise drawing with a much finer brush. The bed of leaves on which they are sitting was also put in at this stage. In the various drawings in the set, some of this stage is very fine, some less so. It is extremely finely done in our example, Vishnu being the very epitome of manly grace and Shri of womanly devotion as they gaze tenderly at each other.

It is a moot point whether and to what extent Nainsukh was involved at this stage or whether this was done by one or other of the sons and nephews, while he thought about his next project. Certainly the short-nosed high-foreheaded profiles of Vishnu and Shri match those in paintings attributed to Nainsukh of Krishna and Radha enthroned (Goswamy 1997, figs. 44 and 90).

The number of each sheet was usually put at the top and repeated on the reverse. Finally a rectangle of firm black lines was ruled round the drawing intended to represent no doubt the area to be painted in full, but later generally ignored. For Nainsukh’s involvement in the preparation of this set, see Goswamy 1997, pp. 246–51, and for an analysis of the drawings as a set see Losty 2017, pp. 147–63.

The drawings are working drawings often showing changes of mind. Vishnu’s left hand was first positioned a little higher up on Shri’s back, but then lowered a little to be at a more natural angle following the line of the shoulder and the upper arm. In the finished painting the hand has been lowered a little more and the wrist has disappeared. In the drawing the position of Vishnu’s right leg has also changed, being originally higher up the page.

Provenance
Private Collection, USA’
Ludwig Habighorst collection

Exhibitions
Der Blaue Gott in indischen Miniaturen, Mittelrhein Museum, Koblenz, 26.7. – 5.10.2014

Literature
Goswamy, B.N., Nainsukh of Guler, Artibus Asiae Suppl. XLI, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, 1997
Habighorst, L.V., Der blaue Gott in indischen Miniaturen, Mittelrhein Museum, Koblenz, 2014,
Losty, J.P., A Mystical Realm of Love – Pahari Paintings from the Eva and Konrad Seitz Collection, Francesca Galloway, London, 2017
McInerney, T., et al., Divine Pleasures: Paintings from India’s Rajput Courts, the Kronos Collection, The Metropolitan Museum, New York., 2016
Miller, B.S., Love Song of the Dark Lord, Columbia University Press, New York, 1977 (first Indian edition, Delhi, 1984)

Publications
Habighorst, L.V., Der blaue Gott in indischen Miniaturen, Mittelrhein Museum, Koblenz, 2014

Francesca Galloway

Poppy on a Gold Ground

Deccan, probably Golkonda, c. 1700
Folio: 25.6 x 18 cm; painting 18 x 10.1 cm
Opaque pigments and gold on paper

Francesca Galloway

Zebra

Imperial Mughal, circa 1621
Opaque pigments and gold on paper
Folio: 13.8 x 19.7 cm

Francesca Galloway

A Horse and Three Grooms

Mughal, c.1575-90
Opaque pigments with gold on paper
The reverse with Mughal Royal Library inspection notes, ownership seals and further inscriptions in black and red ink
Painting: 16.3 x 23.5 cm; folio: 19.9 x 27 cm

Francesca Galloway

A Rainbow Lorikeet perched on a flowering branch (detail)

In the Collection of Lady Impey
Company School, signed by Zayn al-Din from Patna, dated 17
Opaque pigments on paper
Folio: 52.5 x 72.5 cm

Francesca Galloway

Rasalila

Illustration from a dispersed Harivamsha series, numbered 86 on the reverse
Attributed to Purkhu, Kangra,
c. 1800-15
Opaque pigments and gold on paper
Folio: 36 x 47.2 cm including red border

Francesca Galloway

Bust-length portrait of a Princess

Mughal, by a court artist, mid 18th century
Opaque pigments and gold on paper, laid down on a gold decorated album page
Painting: 27.5 x 17.5 cm; Album page: 50.7 x 40 cm

Francesca Galloway

Portrait of a Bengali Hindu in a Landscape
c. 1790
Opaque pigments on paper
96.5 x 63.5 cm

Large paintings of birds, animals and botanical studies by Indian artists working in the late 18th century are well known and were done in significant numbers. But figure portraits like ours on this scale are almost unknown to studies. In the past it has been suggested that our unusual portrait represents a holy man, but this is clearly untenable. Hindu holy men are generally ascetics, but our figure is rather different. The elegance of his demeanor and his simple but expensive attire suggests that he was a high caste Bengali of some distinction – but there are other clues to his identity. Our figure stands on the edge of the Hugli and sailing on the river, entirely out of scale, is a small East Indiaman. This suggests that he may have been a young Gomashta working for the East India Company in one of the settlements upriver from Calcutta dealing in goods for export. Bengali Vaishnavism, which goes back to Chaitanya (1486–1534) and his successors, is particularly prevalent in the district of Bengal now bordering Jharkhand – this gives us a clue to our Bengali’s origins.

Francesca Galloway

Two Princesses Entertained at Night on a Terrace

Attributed to Muhammad Gawhar
Mughal, India
c. 1690
Opaque pigments with gold on paper
Folio: 39.8 × 28.1 cm; painting: 20 × 12.9 cm
Reverse: Calligraphy signed by Abu’l al-Baqa al-Musawi, dated A.H. 1098/1686–87 c.e.
22.3 × 11 cm

Provenance
Private collection, UK

Images of beautiful women relaxing in the imperial zenana must have held vicarious appeal for the Mughal court, for most men were barred by protocol from ever venturing into that highly restricted part of the palace. It is also likely that royal women themselves appreciated depictions of their own realm; in fact, one late 17th-century drawing of a gawky pre-adolescent male servant is inscribed with a note indicating that it was made expressly for the amusement of the ladies of the zenana. In such a luxurious environment, where wine and music flowed freely, pleasures were savoured, and feelings of intimacy were readily kindled.

This painting captures one such stolen moment in the zenana. On a summer’s night when the crescent moon has yet to be swallowed up by approaching cloud banks, two princesses lounge together on a terrace that overlooks a shadowy grove of loquat trees. Two attendants stand and kneel nearby, proffering the contents of delicate glass bottles and a shallow golden dish. A lone musician, her lips parted slightly in song, plucks the tambura as she serenades the pair of royal ladies. Additional vessels, fruits, and blossoms are arrayed across a yellow floor covering with an unobtrusive pattern. Most of these elements are standard in such formulaic terrace scenes.1 What creates this painting’s compelling emotional warmth, however, are nuances of glance, pose, and painting technique. The two princesses, for example, lean their heads together conspiratorially so that one princess can discreetly receive the confidential whisper of the other, who simultaneously glances outward towards the viewer to watch for potential eavesdroppers. The two women sit very close, the one extending her sprawling leg between those of her companion and the other reciprocating with a hand resting suggestively on it. Curling wisps of smoke rise from three candles, which, along with the fleeting moonlight, bathe the royal coterie in soft, atmospheric light without casting overt shadows. Most of all, every bit of warm-toned flesh is given a sensuous, palpably textured surface. For example, along with the hands and torso of the standing maidservant, the faces of the two princesses and the musician are modelled with tiny, granular marks – an effect reminiscent of the style of the Mughal master Govardhan (active 1596 – c. 1645) and unlike the taut, eggshell-like treatment of faces commonly seen in the work of such mid 18th-century painters as Muhammad Afzal (active c. 1730–40). This artist renders gold-hemmed diaphanous cloth with admirable skill, as exemplified by the sheer garments worn by the princesses, and complements it with a strikingly painterly treatment of heavier but seemingly fluffy fabrics such as those of the seated servant’s mustard-coloured shawl, peach-coloured lower garment, and white patka. One more unorthodox detail is also distinctive enough to merit mention: the scratchy striations on the figures’ forearms that describe the dense network of folds in the sheer material.

Our knowledge of individual Mughal artists operating at the end of the 17 century has deepened considerably in recent years. One painter who has not yet figured significantly in that revised account is Muhammad Gawhar (or Guhar), previously known from only two ascribed works.2 On the basis of their pronounced similarities with the present work in the exact shapes of the facial features and hands, and especially the all-over texture marks applied to the face, neck, and hands, this painting and a fine bust-length image of an elegant Mughal lady holding a cup and saucer appear to relate to Muhammad Gawhar.3 It is probable that an artist this accomplished worked for a Mughal prince such as A‘zam Shah (1653–1707), who, along with his sibling, son, and nephew, Princes Mu‘azzam (1643–1712), Bidar Bakht (1670–1707), and ‘Azim al-Shan (1664–1712), was the face of imperial Mughal patronage of painting in the decades around 1700.

Mounted on the reverse of the folio are verses from a ghazal is a quatrain of Sa’ib Tabrizi (d. c. 1676) written in nasta‘liq by the 17th-century calligrapher Abu’l-Baqa al-Musawi in A.H. 1098/1686–87 C.E. From a family of Sayyids from Abarku in central Iran, he lived primarily in Isfahan, but at one point travelled to India, where he left behind a specimen written in Shahjahanabad (Delhi).4 He was in the service of the physician Taqarrub Khan, who also emigrated to India, where he served as royal physician, as well as Taqarrub Khan’s son Mirza Muhammad ‘Ali Khan.

1. Indeed, a contemporary painting with practically the same composition and series of poses, albeit with minor differences in the patterns of clothing and floor covering and especially a bright sky at sunset rather than one representing the dark of night was offered at Sotheby’s, London, 24 April 2013, lot 82.
2. Standing Youth, dated A.H. 1103/1691–92 C.E., published in B.N. Goswamy, Jeremiah P. Losty, and John Seyller, A Secret Garden: Indian Paintings from the Porret Collection (Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 2014), cat.9; and Mirza Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman, ascribed on the painting raqamahu Muhammad Gawhar, c. 1690-1700, and published in Sotheby’s, London, 26 October 2022, lot 69.
3. Royal Library, Windsor, RCIN 1005068.aa, f. 25r.
4. Christie’s, 10 October 2006, lot 118. His career is discussed in Mehdi Bayani, Ahval va athar-e
khushnevisan, vol. 1, Tehran, A.H. 1345 H.sh./1966 C.E., pp. 22–24