Water-colour painting of the view from the fort of Pratapgarh by William Carpenter(1818-1899) in 1850. The image is inscribed: 'The Ghats Mahableshwur seen from the fortress of Pertabghur Nvr/50' which is repeated on reverse.
Kamoda Ragini, Page from a Ragamala Series
Opaque watercolor on paper
ca. 1605-1610
Mughal style, Subimperial
Indian Paintings of Musical Themes
The most prevalent form of classical music in northern India is the raga. A raga is not a composed piece of music but an established set of tonal, rh...
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Kedar Ragini
Folio from a ragamala series (Garland of Musical Modes),ca. 1690–95
Painted by Ruknuddin
India (Bikaner, Rajasthan)
The artist Ruknuddin has combined creatively a number of ragamala texts to make this evocative masterpiece. Following artistic precedent and the texts, he shows an asc...
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Vasant Ragini, Page from a Ragamala Series (Garland of Musical Modes),early 17th century
India (Rajasthan, Amber)
Vasant (spring) is evoked here by the dancing nobleman playing the role of Krishna in celebration of the coming of spring, witnessed by the flowering plants in the foreground, the fl...
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The Great Imambara of Asaf al-Daula, Lucknow - 1795
Watercolour of the Great Imambara of Asaf al-Daula, Lucknow, part of the Hyde collection by an anonymous artist working in the Murshidabad style in c. 1790-1800. Inscribed on the back in pencil and ink: 'Emaumbarree at Lucknow.'
Drawings depicting sculpture from Somnathpur - 1853
Wash drawing by Murugesa Moodaliar
Wash drawing by an Indian draftsman, Murugesa Moodaliar, of two Hoysala sculptures from Karnataka with measurements; signed:' P. Mooroogasa Moodr', dated c.1853.
The Hoysala was a very powerful dynasty that r...
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Krishṇa lifting up Mount Govardhan.
The cowherd god is depicted effortlessly lifting up the mountain to shelter his followers from the storm of the god Indra, seen in the upper right of the painting on his elephant mount, Airavata.
Gouache painting on paper.
Painted by Ustad Sahibdin
Bikaner S...
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An illustration from an avatar series:
Narasimha disembowls Hiranyakashipu
Hyderabad, circa 1800
Opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper.
The split silver pillar disrupts an otherwise perfect symmetry, adding a sense of movement behind the brilliant gold avatar. His delightful grin betrays...
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Hiranyakashipu brandishes his sword at a burning pillar concealing Narasimha
Kangra, 1810-1820
With a pile of hot coals set around the base of the column, two demons work bellows to intensify the heat and flames. On the left another demon escorts Prahlada, carrying a writing slate under his arm...
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Opaque watercolour painting of the shrine of Shri Ranganathasvami at the core of the Srirangam complex. The image, on the golden roof of the main shrine, is of Vi??u Paravasudeva. At the gate of the inner sanctuary are two Dvarapalas (door guardians), Bhadra and Subhadra; near them are two empty ...
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Fort and bridge between Trichinopoly and Srirangam -1850
Painting in gouache on mica of the rock, fort and bridge between Trichinopoly (Tiruchchirappalli) and Srirangam, by an anonymous artist working in the Trichinopoly style, c. 1850. Inscribed: 'A Temple on a Hill and a Bridge near to Trichin...
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Painting depicting a Vaisnava temple procession ca.1820, in South India. Possibly from Srirangam. The temple gopurams (or towering gateways) are seen in the background as the lively procession passes outside the temple wall. Visnu's Sankha and Chakra are held up in the middle of the procession al...
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Nammalvar sits in lalitasana on a platform. His complexion is blue, he wears a headdress, the chayakkontai, and Tengalai namams (emblems) are drawn on his forehead throat, arms and stomach. His jewellery is made of Kamalakshi beads. His right hand is in the teaching gesture and in his left he ho...
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A View From The King's Barracks, Fort St. George, Madras - 1804
Plate two from '24 Views in Indostan by William Orme'. This aquatint was prepared Richard Bankes Harraden (1778-1862) after an original by Francis Swaine Ward (1736-94). Fort St. George was established by the British East India Comp...
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Ghulam Ahmad went to Delhi, which was at the time considered a centre of religious learning and home to many prominent religious leaders, in 1891, with the intention of distinguishing what he believed to be the truth from falsehood. He published an advertis...
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