拍品描述:来源 Acquired by Stanley A Kaplan, in India, during the 1940s-1950s, by repute. The Harivamsa (The Genealogy of Hari) is a work of three chapters appended to the great epic, the Mahabharata. The first chapter contains an account of the creations and the genealogy of the Yadavas, the family of Krishna and Vasudeva descended from their Aryan ancestor, Yadu. The second chapter describes the life of Krishna and his affairs with the gopis, where many of the stories are similar to those in the Bhagavata Purana. The last chapter deals with prophecies of the present age (Kali Yuga) and other matters unconnected with the title of the work. The present illustration depicts the saint Narada warning King Kamsa of his demise. While in the forest Narada witnesses the demigods prophesizing Kamsa's death at the hand of his sister's eighth born son, the future Lord Krishna. A young servant fans Kamsa who is seated in gold, discussing the revelations with his court. Narada is depicted flying out of Mathura, with his veena and bow in hand. The court is surrounded by lush vegetation and cascading floral splays reminiscent of Purkhu's most ambitious series on the Gita Govinda (see Christie's New York 17 March 2021, lot 436). Women of the palace watch over the men from various jarokha windows and balconies. This illustration comes from an extensive Harivamsa series (at times referred to as the Naudan Bhagavata Purana series) which was once in the possession of the Raja of Nadaun and is now widely dispersed. This series has been attributed by Goswamy and Fischer to Purkhu and his workshop. The principal artist at the court of Maharaja Sansar Chand of Kangra, Purkhu was the master of a large atelier and active between 1780 and 1820. Although there are no known works signed by Purkhu, a number of extensive large-sized series have been associated with him and his family, including this Harivamsa, the Gita Govinda, the Mahabharata, and the Bhagavata Purana. For further biography on Purkhu and discussion of his works, see B.N. Goswamy and E. Fischer, Pahari Masters, New Delhi, 2009 (reprint), pp. 368-387. The artist Purkhu is noted for his lyrical depictions of clouds with expressive swirling shapes rendered in multiple colors, often outlined in orange. A further painting ascribed to Purkhu depicting Indra consulting with his preceptor has similar expressive cloud forms which Goswamy and Fischer describe as ‘wonderfully inventive.' Purkhu is also noted for his complex compositions of architectural structures which appear at several different angles flowing with the narrative of the scene. Similarly sweeping architectural compositions can be seen in the Mahabharata series attributed to Purkhu; a painting from this Mahabharata series recently sold at Christie’s New York 22 September 2021, lot 461 for $112,500. Other pages from the Harivamsa series share a remarkably similar composition, and given the epics' relation to each other, it is possible they were produced under the same commission.