Raja Mandhata as a musical mode
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1690
notes: label: School/Tradition
content: Nurpur school
label: Label
content: The musical mode Himal is embodied as Raja Mandhata, this manuscript’s patron. Shown splendidly dressed and seated in a grove with two birds perched on his hand, the king is an emblem of refinement.
label: Label
content: The painting’s superbly controlled line, luminous palette, and precisely calculated composition identify it as part of one of the greatest ragamala series. The vivid yellow background was produced with a pigment made from the urine of cows fed on mangos; the recipe for this color (peori) has been lost to history.
label: Provenance
content: Prior to 1960s
label: Provenance
content: Mandi Royal Collection
label: Provenance
content: From ca. 1980s
label: Provenance
content: Unknown German dealer [1]
label: Provenance
content: To 2003
label: Provenance
content: Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd., New York, New York [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 2003 to 2017
label: Provenance
content: Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, purchased from Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd., New York, New York in March 2003 [3]
label: Provenance
content: From 2017
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim [4]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] According to conversation with Catherine Glynn Benkaim from June 14, 2016, Ms. Benkaim mentioned that this folio and numerous others from the series were with a German dealer in the 1980s.
label: Provenance
content: [2] Catherine Glynn Benkaim purchased this painting from Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd. in March 2003.
label: Provenance
content: [3] See note 2.
label: Provenance
content: [4] See Acquisition Consideration Form, object file, Collections Management Office.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Body Image (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Mandi Royal Collection
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Unknown
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Terence McInerney Fine Arts, Ltd. (active 1990-2013)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Ralph and Catherine Benkaim
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Catherine Glynn Benkaim (born 1946)
place: label: Origin
content: Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh state, India
topic: label: Topic
content: portrait
label: Topic
content: bird
label: Topic
content: man
label: Topic
content: India
label: Topic
content: South Asian and Himalayan Art
label: Topic
content: Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
setName: label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Purchase from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F2017.13.3
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Opaque watercolor on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (sheet): 21.3 × 20.9 cm (8 3/8 × 8 1/4 in)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 17.5 × 17.7 cm (6 7/8 × 7 in)