Important Notice

KANGRA, CIRCA 1810
Inscribed in Nagari 'Nala Damayanti' at the bottom
Gouache on paper
Image: 11.25 x 12 in (28.6 x 30.9 cm)
Folio: 12.75 x 13.5 in (32.7 x 34.6 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
Property from a Distinguished Family Collection

This painting depicts an important scene from the wedding of Nala, king of Nishada, and Damayanti, the princess of Vidarbha. Set in a court populated with figures, on the extreme right is Nala with his hands folded in respect to the gods blessing him. In the foreground, Nala is seated on a palanquin and is departing for his wedding with Damayanti. The storytelling technique follows the tradition of a continuous narrative, where the central character can appear multiple times in the same painting.

A related painting is now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the National Museum in New Delhi. Writing about the significance of the theme, B N Goswamy observed that "...the story of Nala and Damayanti has come in for considerable attention as much because of its being the theme of literary texts, which the painter was so fond of of literary texts, which the painter was so fond of (B N Goswamy, Nala and Damayanti: A Great Series of Paintings of an Old Indian Romance, New Delhi: Niyogi Books, 2015, p. 22)

KANGRA, CIRCA 1810
Inscribed in Nagari 'Nala Damayanti' at the bottom
Gouache on paper
Image: 11.25 x 12 in (28.6 x 30.9 cm)
Folio: 12.75 x 13.5 in (32.7 x 34.6 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
Property from a Distinguished Family Collection

This painting depicts an important scene from the wedding of Nala, king of Nishada, and Damayanti, the princess of Vidarbha. Set in a court populated with figures, on the extreme right is Nala with his hands folded in respect to the gods blessing him. In the foreground, Nala is seated on a palanquin and is departing for his wedding with Damayanti. The storytelling technique follows the tradition of a continuous narrative, where the central character can appear multiple times in the same painting.

A related painting is now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the National Museum in New Delhi. Writing about the significance of the theme, B N Goswamy observed that "...the story of Nala and Damayanti has come in for considerable attention as much because of its being the theme of literary texts, which the painter was so fond of of literary texts, which the painter was so fond of (B N Goswamy, Nala and Damayanti: A Great Series of Paintings of an Old Indian Romance, New Delhi: Niyogi Books, 2015, p. 22)