H x W (painting): 12.4 × 8.9 cm (4 7/8 × 3 1/2 in)
H x W (overall): 25.8 × 20 cm (10 3/16 × 7 7/8 in)
Type:
Painting
Origin:
Bikaner, Rajasthan state, India
Date:
ca. 1660
School/Tradition:
Bikaner school
Description:
This delicately drawn and colored painting depicts two slim princesses seated on a terrace on a cotton cloth laid over a floral carpet. Both are dressed in fine transparent muslin. One plays a vina and the other listens entranced as she inclines her head towards her friend, resting it on her hand.
Inscriptions:
Verso: inscribed in Nagari script: "saheli bhadi che" (girlfriend……).
Provenance:
?-December 13, 1965
Ownership information unknown
December 13, 1965
Sale, London, Sotheby’s, "Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures," December 13, 1965, lot 34 [1]
December 13, 1965- December 11, 1968
Ownership information unknown
December 11, 1968
Sale, London, Sotheby’s, "Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures," December 11, 1968, lot 19 [2]
December 11, 1968-2001
Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), purchased at December 1968, Sotheby’s Sale, London [3]
2001-2018
Catherine Glynn Benkaim, by inheritance from Ralph Benkaim [4]
From 2018
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchase and partial gift from Catherine Glynn Benkaim [5]
Notes:
[1] See “Catalogue of Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures," (London: Sotheby’s & Co., December 13, 1965), lot 34, p. 8. Described as “Two girls sitting on a terrace which is decorated with a rich carpet, one listening while the other plays to her on a dholak, in the foreground various garden flowers (122mm. x 90mm.) [Provincial Mughal, probably Bikaner. 2nd half of 17th century].” The object is not associated with a specific seller and is listed under “Other Properties.”
According to Debra Diamond, Curator for South and Southeast Asian Art, on March 17, 2023, this information was provided by Catherine Glynn Benkaim prior to acquisition. Ralph Benkaim kept all the Sotheby’s catalogues at his home and annotated them.
[2] See “Catalogue of Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures," (London: Sotheby’s & Co., December 11, 1968), lot 19, p. 11, illustrated. Described as “A girl playing the tambur.” The object is not associated with a specific seller and is listed under “Other Properties [/] Mughal Miniatures” section.
[3] See notes by Debra Diamond, Curator for South and Southeast Asian Art, titled “A girl playing the tambur while her companion listens,” May 2019, pp. 91-92, copy in object file.
Ralph Benkaim was an entertainment lawyer from Los Angles who started collecting Indian and Islamic art in 1961.
[4] See note 3.
Catherine Glynn Benkaim is a collector and scholar in the field of Indian painting. Ms. Benkaim met her husband, Ralph Benkaim, in the 1970s when she was the curator of Indian painting at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The couple were married 1979 and together they amassed a collection of Indian paintings, which included examples from all genres. They collected objects for their collection through dealers and auctions. Objects from their collection may also be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Williams College Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, among others.
[5] See “Appendix B Bill of Sale” and “Appendix C Donor Substantiation Letter,” dated January 2, 2018, copy in object file.
