An illustration to a Hamir Hath series: Alauddin Khilji and Hamir Dev in battle, attributed to Sajnu, North India, Mandi, circa 1810
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
gouache heightened with gold on paper, within blue rules, red border, the reverse with 6 lines of black devanagari, numbered '13' near upper edge, with attached fly leaf bearing Royal Mandi collection stamp
painting: 33.1 by 46.5cm.
leaf: 37.6 by 40.3cm.
Royal Mandi Collection
Sotheby’s, London, 23 April 1974, lot 119
Private collection, UK
The Hamir Hath (‘The Obstinacy of Hamir’), is a fourteenth century Rajasthani ballad which narrates the tale of Hamir Dev (r.1283-1301), the last Chauhan ruler of Ranthambore, who was defeated by the forces of Alauddin Khilji, Sultan of Delhi.
The illustration is divided diagonally depicting Alauddin Khilji on the left, seated in a tent enclosure under a canopy with his officers. European soldiers identifiable by their red coats and wide-rimmed hats can be seen in the upper left section firing cannon. Hamir Dev is seated at the far right consulting with his advisors, the figures seated in a columned chamber within a fortress with precipitous sides.
The style of the present painting is closely comparable to a set of twenty-one illustrations from a known Hamir Hath series which was painted by Sajnu in 1810. The set bears an inscription which states that it was presented to Raja Isvari Sen of Mandi (1788-1826) by the artist Sajnu on the 16th day of the month of Magha, Vikram samvat 1867 (1810 AD). Sajnu is believed to have been a Kangra artist who arrived at the court of Raja Isvari Sen in the early nineteenth century, however, the style and subject-matter of illustrations attributed to him also bear close similarities with Guler painting of this period. Although a well-known ballad, the Hamir Hath does not seem to have been illustrated at the Pahari courts prior to 1800. There are at least five known series which were painted in the Guler and Mandi styles in the early nineteenth century. For further discussion, see W.G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, Vol. I, London, 1973, pp.360-2.
For other illustrations from this large format Hamir Hath series sold at auction, see Sotheby’s New York, 1 April 2005, lots 115, 116; 19 September 2008, lot 212; Christie’s New York, 22 September 2021, lot 457.
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