LORD RAMA IN OBEISANCE TO A COMPOSITE MYTHICAL CREATURE WITH SHIVA'S HEAD
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION
Possibly Mewar, Rajasthan, North-Western India, first half 19th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on wove paper, the horizontal-format composition depicting Lord Rama standing to the left with his hands held in prayer in front of a composite mythical creature in the form of a sphinx or chimera with Shiva's face, the Vaishnava avatar god identified by the quiver and bow on the floor next to him, the body of the composite creature made of different deities including Brahma, Indra, Vishnu and Durga, blended with a variety of real and mythical animals including an elephant, various felines, a dog, a bull, several birds and a dragon, the mythical creature being bathed and blessed in holy water by two winged and crowned angels in the sky, set within white, yellow and red rules, the reverse plain, mounted on a white cardboard frame, the folio 16.3cm x 25.4cm, 35.5cm x 28cm including the mount.

For an identical painting depicting the same whimsical composition and sharing the same dimensions as the present example, please see these Rooms, 16 April 2021, lot 328, which successfully sold for £8,800 GBP hammer.