Cover image: A gold Tali Pendant by Sue Ollemans on

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a GOld Tali PENdaNT

Part of a Kali Thiru (auspicious necklace) Chettiars Nattukottai Tamil Nadu, India South India 19th century Inset with rubies and red stone. 13 x 10 cm Provenance: Private English collection Price: 12.000 GBP

ObjeCt PReSeNted by:

Sue Ollemans M.: + 44 (0) 7775 566 356 E.: sue@ollemans.com W: www.ollemans.com The Chettiars were former salt merchants belonging to the caste of rich merchants who were once settled on the Coromandel Coast and later migrated inland. The auspicious wedding necklaces were comprised of large central pendants and a number of smaller ones such as this that would flank the central pendant. These pieces evoked crab claws and shells that the Chettiars wore as ornaments or would represent the hands of the bride and groom. These necklaces were part of the dowry offered by the parents to their daughter. They were considered as auspicious and protective and under Hindu law remained undisputedly her property to be used for her protection and security. The word Tali comes from the name of a palm tree, the talipet that in some communities is used as a single strip of palm leaf tied around the bride’s neck to serve as a marriage emblem. The use of this auspicious emblem goes back into antiquity and in Southern India marriage tokens are strung on a sacred yellow thread and tied with three knots around the neck of the bride invoking the blessings of the Trinity: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Similar Examples; Barbier Mueller Museum, Geneva, Switzerland. Metropolitan Museum, New York, United States of America.

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Śiva naṭaRāja

Northern India Pratīhāra period Circa 11th century Red sandstone Height: 63 cm Provenance: Private collection, U.K. Price: 48.000 euros

ObjeCt PReSeNted by:

Christophe Hioco M.: +33 (0) 1 53 30 09 65 E.: info@galeriehioco.com W: www.galeriehioco.com Beautiful stele of Śiva Naṭarāja in the chatura-tāndava pose. It is the 107th step in the 108 step dance of Śiva Naṭarāja, just before he launches into destruction. Śiva as Naṭarāja is the cosmic dancer and is the master and source of all the dance forms and performs the tāndava, the dance in which the universe is created, maintained, and dissolved. The chatura tā ava pose is that where the right leg is firmly placed on the apasmārapuru a (ignorance) and the left leg is raised half way into the air shortly before being stretched out as the Naṭarāja tā ava pose. Śiva’s hair is dressed high in jaṭāmukuṭa and his long, matted tresses, usually piled up in a knot, loosen during the dance and crash into the heavenly bodies, knocking them off course or destroying them utterly. A thin sash runs around the waist. The costume consists of short drawers worn with an elaborate girdle decorated with a floral clasp in front. He wears a tiara with fillet, several ear-rings and a chain of flowers on each shoulder, yajñopavīta, necklace, udarabandha, spiral armlets, bracelets, rings and anklets. The stoic face of Śiva represents his neutrality, thus being in balance and is surrounded by flames which represent the manifest Universe. Śiva’s upper right hand holds a small drum shaped like an hourglass (re ugarbha). A specific hand gesture (mudra) called çlamaru-hasta is used to hold the drum. It symbolizes sound originating creation or the beat of the drum is the passage of time. His lower left hand holds a sword which signifies that he is the destroyer of births and deaths and his mid left hand holds a ak amālā (rosary) made of rudrāk a beads which symbolizes concentration. Rudrāk a mālā have been used by Hindus and Buddhists as rosaries at least from the 10th century for meditation purposes and to sanctify the mind, body and soul. Śiva’s mid left hand is in abhaya mudra (fearlessness gesture) with a serpent coiled around the forearm, the abhaya mudra is meant to bestow protection from both evil and ignorance to those who follow the righteousness of dharma. His other mid left hand holds a kāpala danda (skull-club) that derives from the khatvanga (long skull-capped staff originally created to be used as a weapon).

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PaNdaN - BETEl BOx

Lucknow, India Second half of the 18th century Enamelled silver Height: 14 cm Diameter: 12 cm Provenance: Han Coray collection, Casa Coray, Agnuzzo Price: 24.000 euros

ObjeCt PReSeNted by:

Alexis Renard T.: + 33 1 44 07 33 02 E.: alexis@alexisrenard.com W: www.alexisrenard.com This high-quality betel set has one more compartment and level than most betel boxes or pandan of its kind. Luxury objects like this one were used to prepare betel using areca nut, lime and other ingredients, folded together in a Piper betle leaf. This preparation was very popular in South Asia. Here the additional tray has four gilded compartments to store the ingredients and four small candlesticks. The lime container is hidden in the cover.

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Another example of a silver enamelled pandan from Lucknow is held by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Inv. AC1993.137.1.1-2), and is published in: S. Markel S. and T. Bindu Gude (2010), India’s Favourite City: The Art of Courtly Lucknow, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum, n° 86, p. 204.

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THE CElEsTial MusiCiaN, NaRada

Bikaner, India Circa 1630-1640 Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper 25,7 cm x 19,1 cm Provenance: From an important European collection. Price: 80.000 USD

ObjeCt PReSeNted by:

Kapoor Galleries M.: + 1 (212) 794-2300 E.: info@kapoors.com W: www.kapoors.com.com

In Hindu mythology, Narada is revered for both his sage advice and his mischievous ways, creating some of Vedic literature’s most humorous tales. He is also known as a master of the vina and is frequently depicted with one, as in the present scene. Narada is said to have dictated the story of Rama to the esteemed Sanskrit poet Valmiki. Upon visiting Narada at his hermitage, Valmiki asked who the perfect man was; someone powerful, educated, fear-striking, and beautiful. Narada responded that he knew of only one, and that was Rama. He then went on to give an account of Rama’s adventures to Maharishi Valmiki, who authored the Ramayana. This painting belongs to the same set as the illustration of Brahma; from the same series as The Liberation of Gajendra, illustrated by Andrew Topsfield in In the Realm of Gods and Kings, New York, 2004, p.117, no. 43, formerly in the collection of Cynthia Polsky and sold at Bonhams New York, 16 March 2015, lot 70. Recto translation: Narada, the sage of the heaven, is a great god [bhagavan]. He becomes overwhelmed with joy as he creates the Vedic melody, characterized by regulated rise and fall of sounds through the musical scale [grama] with the skillful use of the plectrum for manipulating the multiple strings of the lute that he carries on his shoulder. The sage, whose appearance is as lustrous as the moonlight of the full moon night, purifies the world as he sings Vishnu’s prayers. May the sage protect the great king Prthvisimha. Verso translation: [The name of the meter] is Savaiya. Having seen the rapidly increasing problematic situation caused by viraga [the lack of gentle feeling of fondness or liking] in the world, [the sage] Narada incarnated himself and explained [the significance] of raga [attachment; enthusiasm] to everybody in order to increase anuraga [love; affection]. [The name of] the tala is Samaipagi. Those who sing the virtues of [other people] are smart, control the feeling of mind and meditate. Translations by Gautama Vajracharya.

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MullaH dO-PiYaza

India 17th - 18th century Black line drawing and pigments on paper Page: 17,5 cm x 14,4 cm Drawing: 15,3 cm x 12,3 cm Price: 2.500 euros

Deccan, India First half of the 19th century Pigments on paper Dimensions: 18 cm x 25,4 cm Provenance: Formerly in the collection of S. E. Jean Pozzi Enrico Isacco collection Françoise and Claude Bourelier collection Price: 8.000 euros

ObjeCt PReSeNted by:

Alexis Renard T.: + 33 1 44 07 33 02 E.: alexis@alexisrenard.com W: www.alexisrenard.com Named after a fragrant Indian dish in which the onion is the key ingredient, the Mullah Do-Piyaza (literally ‘two onions’) is represented with his characteristic rotund figure and onion-shaped turban. He is also sitting on an emaciated horse, creating a humorous contrast.

He is said to have been part of Akbar’s close circle, and to have attained a high rank at court. He is described in 19th-century folk tales as an amusing yet spiritual character. Most academics and art historians consider him to be purely fictional.

For a painting representing the same subject, see: Hurel R., exhibition catalogue, Miniature et peintures indiennes – Collection du département des Estampes et de la Photographie de la Bibliothèque Nationale de France, 10 March to 6 June 2010, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, vol. 1, p. 96, n. 102.

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PORTRaiT Of a PORTuGuEsE MaN sMOKiNG

Bundi, Rajasthan, India 18th century Pigments, silver and gold on paper Height : 25 cm Width : 20 cm Price: 8.000 euros

ObjeCt PReSeNted by:

Alexis Renard T.: + 33 1 44 07 33 02 E.: alexis@alexisrenard.com W: www.alexisrenard.com The well-dressed central character in this scene sits comfortably under a flowering tree, with his back resting on a cushion, smoking a curved pipe. His fair hair is enhanced by the use of gold paint, and on his head he wears a large hat, or topi, typical of the Portuguese hats. The artist has also added some Indian touches to his outfit, such as the Indo-Persian bazu-band around his upper-left arm.

A young woman (probably European, as her blonde hair is also painted in gold), brings him a tray holding a jug and a blue-and-white ceramic bowl. The colourful textiles and carpets in the lower part of the painting enhance the freshness of the scene.

What emerges overall is a sense of these characters as seen through Indian eyes – both peculiar and exotic.

After its arrival in Europe around 1560, tobacco soon reached India, where by 1590 it had begun to be cultivated. It was soon very popular, with the use of water pipes or huqqas becoming typical status symbols amongst the Mughals, defining social rank alongside other valuables such as weaponry.

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