.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Europeans had been a presence in India since the 16th century, but during the eighteenth century, especially as the strength of the Mughal empire waned, their presence became more and more apparent. As noted in the introduction, the Phool Mahal in the Fort Palace in Bikaner, built and decorated between 1719 and 1787, has interiors that are a wonderful mixture of 'farangi' influences. The decoration below the dado comprises Mughal style flowers in cartouches, but the technique is to make the designs in silvered (mirrored) glass, a European invention, cut to shape and set into the plaster. Above that are niches which are reminiscent of those seen in miniatures, originally from the Deccan, as in a painting of Sultan 'Ali 'Adil Shah in durbar (Navina Najat Haidar and Marika Sardar, Sultans of Deccan India 1500-1700, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2015, no.67, pp.148-9) but later frequently in Bikaner painting. The vases that occupy the niches are convincingly painted with blue and white designs suitable for Chinese porcelains. Dominating the entire design is a moulded plaster European figure with curling long black hair, about to pour wine into a cup (Hermann Goetz, The Art and Architecture of Bikaner State, Oxford, 1950, pl,39, p.155). The hair style is very similar to that of our painting, as is the incongruous sarpech within the hair. He faces a similar figure across the room.
The present painting is very much in the same aesthetic. The European is not compeltely understood: is he playing a flute - there seem to be holes along its length - or smoking an opium pipe? The precision of the features and the shading on the face indicates that here there may well be some influence coming in from Jaipur. A depiction in the British Museum of a similar figure embracing his partner, wearing a comparable sarpech, also within an oval surround, is attributed to Udaipur circa 1720, although in that painting the spandrels contain Bikaner-like floral scrolls (inv.no.1956,0714,0.27; https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_obje ct_details.aspx?assetId=273836001&objectId=184053&partId=1).
The date on the reverse appears to be improbably early. The decoration of the Phool Mahal, noted above, is still described to visitors in Bikaner as dating from the 17th century, although Goetz noted that the decoration of this part of the palace dated from 1745-1787 (Hermann Goetz, The Art and Architecture of Bikaner State, Oxford, 1950, p.77 and pl.39, p.155).
The present painting is very much in the same aesthetic. The European is not compeltely understood: is he playing a flute - there seem to be holes along its length - or smoking an opium pipe? The precision of the features and the shading on the face indicates that here there may well be some influence coming in from Jaipur. A depiction in the British Museum of a similar figure embracing his partner, wearing a comparable sarpech, also within an oval surround, is attributed to Udaipur circa 1720, although in that painting the spandrels contain Bikaner-like floral scrolls (inv.no.1956,0714,0.27; https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_obje ct_details.aspx?assetId=273836001&objectId=184053&partId=1).
The date on the reverse appears to be improbably early. The decoration of the Phool Mahal, noted above, is still described to visitors in Bikaner as dating from the 17th century, although Goetz noted that the decoration of this part of the palace dated from 1745-1787 (Hermann Goetz, The Art and Architecture of Bikaner State, Oxford, 1950, p.77 and pl.39, p.155).