Johnson 33,1, 3-9, 12-14, 16, 17, 20-25, 27, 28, 30-34

J.33,1, 3-9, 12-14, 16, 17, 20-25, 27, 28, 30-34

Twenty-six paintings from a ‘ragamala’ series, arranged according to the Ordinary system.

Jaipur, c.1760.

Richard Johnson Collection. Purchased 1807.

Gouache with gold; yellow panel above each picture with Hindi verses written in black; trimmed red borders.

250 by 165 mm; page 260 by 175 mm.

Published: Ebeling (1973), 190, no.59; Waldschmidt (1975), 538, no.20.

Note: The Hindi verses written on each picture usually include a ‘chaupai’ and d’oha,’ giving the identification of the ‘raga’ or ‘ragini’ and its original number in the series.

This style of ‘ragamala’ painting, with its small figures and attention to numerous details, is one of the most prolific of its period. Numerous sets exist in collections in many countries, and they are remarkable for their uniformity and consistency. The background and features of the style have been summarised by Ebeling ((1973), 94), who also points out on p.190 that this iconography is normal for the eighteenth-century Jaipur tradition although ‘Devgandar has no performing musician, but the big-horn sheep is there, ... Kamod and Bangal are bare-chested, rather busty women without the usual translucent veil’.