THREE ILLUSTRATIONS TO RAGAMALA SERIES
Bundi in 17th-century Malwa style, Rajasthan, North-Western India, 19th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, comprising three vertical compositions, each of a slightly different size and illustrating various scenes, including the easily-recognisable Bhairavi Ragini (The Linga Worshipper), part of the Bhairava Raga, depicting the nayika in the act of worshipping and making offerings to a Shiva Linga shrine, followed by two female musicians, one with a large oval drum (dholak), the other with castanets, 25cm x 17cm; and two further scenes from unidentified Ragamala or devotional poetry series, the first illustrating Krishna seated outside a white pavilion, inside a female attendant preparing the bed, on the opposite side of the river a bejewelled prince trying to cross with his chariot, a lady picking flowers from a tree and a Vaishnava sadhu seated in a shrine, 25.4cm x 17cm; the second depicting a courtly lady raising her foot to the point of touching the turban of her male companion knelt in front of her and pointing at the ground, their pose suggesting a veneration and forgiveness scene, 25.4cm x 17cm; each illustration with an empty text cartouche on ochre ground at the top, framed within black and white rules, and bright red borders, all backed with wasli paper.