Object Details
- School/Tradition
- Mewar school
- Label
- According to this folio from a 'Book of Dreams,' a meditating ascetic in a lavender-tinged dawn landscape foretells health, prosperity, and happiness. Numbered 62 and classified as a shrestha (noble or excellent) omen, the folio belongs to a large dispersed series from Mewar related to the interpretation of dreams and omens. There must have been a special interest in dreams and omens at the Mewar court. Another complete 'Book of Dreams' is in the Government Museum of Udaipur.
- Provenance
- 1966
- Sale, London, Sotheby’s, Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, December 12, 1966, lot. 100: “A Sadhu outside his Hut” [1]
- From 1966 to 2001
- Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), Beverly Hills, California, purchased at auction, “Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures,” London, December 12, 1966, lot no. 100, “A Sadhu outside his Hut” [2]
- From 2001 to 2018
- Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, by inheritance from Ralph Benkaim in 2001
- From 2018
- Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim
- Notes:
- [1] Ralph Benkaim purchased the painting from Sotheby’s London, December 1966, several years before the Indian government classified paintings as antiquities, according to his personal records, as relayed by Catherine Glynn Benkaim.
- [2] See note 1.
- Collection
- National Museum of Asian Art Collection
- Previous custodian or owner
- Ralph and Catherine Benkaim
- Catherine Glynn Benkaim
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Date
- ca. 1720
- Credit Line
- Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (painting): 19.7 × 17.5 cm (7 3/4 × 6 7/8 in)
- H x W (overall): 25.7 × 21.6 cm (10 1/8 × 8 1/2 in)
- Type
- Painting
