Lakshmana at the hermitage, folio from a Ramayana

Painted in an eccentric palette of lemon yellow, warm pink, and mauve, this scene represents an ashram. The two young disciples Rama and Lakshmana appear twice: once with their teachers on the painting’s left and again on the left by the gateway in the woven brush/bramble fence. A tiger and water buffalo lap water from the pond.

Historical period(s)
ca. 1690-1710
School
Kulu or Bilaspur school
Medium
Opaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions
H x W (painting): 18.4 × 29.2 cm (7 1/4 × 11 1/2 in) H x W (overall): 21.6 × 32.1 cm (8 1/2 × 12 5/8 in)
Geography
India, Himachal Pradesh state, Kulu or Bilaspur
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
S2018.1.10
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Painting

Keywords
ashram, India, Lakshmana, Ralph and Catherine Benkaim collection, Ramayana, tiger, water buffalo
Provenance

Raja Raghbir Singh, Shangri, Kullu Valley, India.

1970
Sale, London, Sotheby’s, Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, July 15, 1970, lot no. 164: “Lakshmana Arriving at a Hermitage by a Lake.”

From 1970 to 2001
Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), Beverly Hills, California, purchased at auction, “Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures” Sotheby’s, London, July 15, 1970, lot no. 164, “Lakshmana Arriving at a Hermitage by a Lake.” [1]

From 2001 to 2018
Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, by inheritance from Ralph Benkaim in 2001. [2]

From 2018
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim. [3]

Notes:

[1] Ralph Benkaim purchased the painting in July 1970 from Sotheby’s, two years before Indian paintings were classified as antiquities by the Indian government, according to his personal records via Catherine Glynn Benkaim.

[2] See Acquisition Justification Form, object file, Collections Management Office.

[3] See note 2.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Sotheby's (London)
Raja Raghbir Singh
Ralph (1914-2001) and Catherine Benkaim
Catherine Glynn Benkaim

Description

Painted in an eccentric palette of lemon yellow, warm pink, and mauve, this scene represents an ashram. The two young disciples Rama and Lakshmana appear twice: once with their teachers on the painting's left and again on the left by the gateway in the woven brush/bramble fence. A tiger and water buffalo lap water from the pond.

Inscription(s)

Inscribed on the top, right and bottom sides of the red border in takri script; Inscribed on the reverse in nagari: Ara[n]ya, 25; right side and an upside down.

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

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