ARTS OF INDIA

49
A PRINCELY COUPLE ON A TERRACE
BY GUMANA, JAIPUR, RAJASTHAN, NORTH
INDIA, CIRCA 1820
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on
paper, the couple in a amorous embrace seats on
a large padded chair, he wears an elaborate hat
after European fashion, both under an awning,
surrounded with female attendants, a lake
appearing behind the balustrade, a cloudy sunset
sky at top, laid down on gold-speckled pink border
with blue and cream margins, the reverse with
devanagari inscription
Painting 9Ω x 6Ωin. (24.2 x 16.5cm.);
page 17¬ x 12¡in. (44.7 x 31.5cm.)
£2,500-3,500 $3,600-5,000
€3,200-4,400
PROVENANCE:
Collection of Kumar Sangram Singh
On verso: kalam gumanā kī (style of Gumanā)
For another painting by Gumana, see Rita Pratap,
The Panorama of Jaipur Paintings, 1996, No. 1,
p.191, no.13.
TWO FOLIOS FROM THE WELLINGTON ALBUM
(LOTS 50 & 51)
50
NADIR SHAH AFSHAR
LUCKNOW, NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1800
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on
paper, the Persian conqueror of Delhi seats on a
bejewelled throne, his face within a green and gold
halo, two ladies in Persian dress present him with
fruits, a courtier stands behind him, on a terrace
with a marble pavilion and trees in the background,
laid down on gold-speckled pink card with gold
illuminated margins
Painting 10æ x 7Ωin. (27.3 x 19cm.);
page 17º x 12Ωin. (43.7 x 31.7cm.)
£3,000-5,000 $4,300-7,100
€3,800-6,200
PROVENANCE:
Sotheby’s, London, 10 & 11 October 1991, lot 783
Sotheby’s, London, 30 April 1992, lot 292 (part lot)
For two other folios from the Wellington Album,
see S. Markel and T.B. Gude, India’s Fabled City:
The Art of Courtly Lucknow, Los Angeles, 2011,
cat.158-159, p.38 and p.259. Two others were
published in Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch,
Miniature Painting from the Indian and Islamic
World, 2010, cat.22 and 23, pp.38-39. These
pages were from an album acquired in India
between 1796-1805 by Arthur Wellesley, frst
Duke of Wellington (1789-1852). He arrived in
India in 1796, fought against Tipu Sultan in 1799
and the Marathas between 1802-1804. Fourteen
of these pages sold at Sotheby’s, London, 10-11
October 1991.
51
A PRINCE EXERCISING WITH A BOW
LUCKNOW, NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1800
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on
paper, the prince and a courtesan sit on a raised
bed standing over a red carpet with gold foliage,
he shoots an arrow at a lion, a female attendant
standing behind them, a canopy raised above
them, a lake in the background, laid down on goldspeckled
pink card with foral illuminated margins
Painting 7√ x 5Ωin. (20 x 14cm.);
page 17º x 12Ωin. (43.6 x 31.8cm.)
£2,000-3,000 $2,900-4,300
€2,500-3,700
PROVENANCE:
Sotheby’s, London, 10 & 11 October 1991, lot 789
Sotheby’s, London 30 April 1992, lot 292 (part lot)
For a short discussion on the Wellington album,
see the preceding lot.
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