A lady on a terrace with hookah and falcon

Maker(s)
Artist: Attributed to a follower of Har Jaimal (active late 18th century)
Historical period(s)
20th century
School
Nurpur school
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 23.5 × 15.9 cm (9 1/4 × 6 1/4 in) H x W (miniature): 19.1 × 12.1 cm (7 1/2 × 4 3/4 in)
Geography
India
Credit Line
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S2018.1.15
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Painting

Keywords
falcon, hookah, India, Ralph and Catherine Benkaim collection, woman
Provenance

To 1969
Kasmin Gallery, London, England. [1]

From 1969 to 2001
Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), Beverly Hills, California, purchased from Kasmin Gallery, London, England. In April 1969. [2]

From 2001 to 2018
Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, by inheritance from Ralph Benkaim in 2001. [3]

From 2018
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim. [4]

Notes:

[1] Ralph Benkaim purchased the painting in 1969 from Kasmin Gallery in London, several years before Indian paintings were classified as antiquities by the Indian government, according to his personal records via Catherine Glynn Benkaim.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See note 1.

[4] See Acquisition Consideration Form, object file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Ralph (1914-2001) and Catherine Benkaim
Catherine Glynn Benkaim
Kasmin Gallery English, 1963-1972

Label

This painting represents a traditional subject: a beautiful woman standing by a tree. Dressed in lavender and with a blandly generic face, she holds a white falcon and a hookah mouthpiece. The flowery tree to her left and the distant landscape are cursorily rendered. The painting is by a follower of Har Jaimal, an artist identified by his landscapes of rolling hills dotted with tiny trees represented by a series of tiny horizontal brush strokes and dotted patches. This work's high-key pastel palette, particularly its atypical teal, suggests that this folio is a 20th-century work based on Har Jaimal's style.

Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Terms of Use