Wedding Preparations: folio from a Nala-Damayanti series

Historical period(s)
1775-1800
Movement
Guler Court
School
Pahari School
Medium
Opaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions
H x W (drawing): 22.4 × 33.6 cm (8 13/16 × 13 1/4 in)
Geography
India, Punjab Hills, Himachal Pradesh state, Guler
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1930.85
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Painting

Keywords
bathing, cooking, drum, India, lute, marriage, Nala Damayanti
Provenance

To 1930
Ajit Ghose, Calcutta to 1930 [1]

From 1930
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Ajit Ghose, Calcutta in 1930 [2]

Notes:

[1] Object file, undated folder sheet note. See also Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Ajit Ghose

Label

This drawing is one of a series that illustrates the love story of the heroic Nala and the beautiful Damayanti, a tale that forms part of the renowned Hindu epic, the Mahabharata (Great story of the Bharatas). Using the convention of continuous narrative that was popular at many Rajput courts, the artist has portrayed Damayanti three times as she prepares for her wedding. At the very center a group of attendants bathe Damayanti; at the upper left she is being dressed and adorned by her companions; at the lower right she is led out to the marriage ceremonies.

Published References
  • Masters of Indian Painting. Exh. cat. Zurich. vol. 2: pp. 687-718.
  • Alvan Clark Eastman. The Nala-Damayanti Drawings: A Study of a Portfolio of Drawings made for Raja Samsar Cand of Kangra (1774-1823), Illustrating an Early Indian Romance
    . Boston. pl. 6.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. The Brush of the Masters: Drawings from Iran and India. Exh. cat. Washington, 1978. cat. 78, pp. 132-134.
Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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