THE GREAT GODDESS AMBAMATA APPEARS BEFORE BAPPA RAWAL


MEWAR, MID 19TH CENTURY Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Image: 11 x 7 5/8 in. (28 x 19.3 cm);Folio: 12 1/2 x 9 1/8 in. (31.8 x 23.2 cm)
|Surprised by the appearance of the goddess, Ambamata, from the tall stand of reeds, Bappa Rawal has dropped his bowl of gold on his foot, leaving a discernable red mark. The bowl of gold was intended for the shiva eklingji in penance for Bappa's cow, who had been discharging milk on the shrine. Ambamata materializes to offer Bappa weapons in pursuit of building his empire. In the far distance, a walled lake and small village with a central shrine depicts Ambamata's temple. Although a very popular 8th-century narrative story about the founding of the Mewar empire and Sisodian rule, very few paintings of this subject are recorded. Yet the composition follows a convention that has remained a constant since the 17th century. For example, see Topsfield, Court Paintings of Udpair, Zurich, 2011, p.17, fig.4, and Hutton & Brown, Islamic Art, 1500-Present, Oxon, 2017, p.51, fig.2.11). The depiction may also revise an alternate account wherein Bappa refuses to receive spit in his mouth from his guru, Harit Rishi, departing for the heavens in the chariot above. The implication being, that Bappa was not promised immortality, only immunity from weapons. Bonhams is grateful to Catherine Glynn for her assistance in preparing this entry. Provenance Navin Kumar Gallery, New York, 1980s Private Rhode Island Collection