Woman smoking huqqa - Lot 119

Woman smoking huqqa Attributable to the artist Chajju Pigments, silver and gold on paper India, Pahari, Guler style in Chamba, early 19th century Painting: 19.7 x 14.5 cm Provenance: Joseph Soustiel (old label on back) Two richly-dressed and jeweled women, one smoking a huqqa, are depicted on a wooded terrace, accompanied by a peacock. A miniature very similar in style, with framing fillets comparable to our painting, is in the Musée Guimet (n°MA2668), and attributed to the painter Chajju. The Museum's painting represents the summer season. Ours is probably part of this series or of a series of similar paintings. Chajju, grandson of the famous artist Nainsukh of the Guler workshop (and son of Nikka), worked with his brother Harkhu in the Chamba workshop during the reign of Raja Raj Singh and his successors. For other paintings attributed to Chajju, see : Seyller J. & Mittal J. (2014), Pahari Paintings in the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian art, Hyderabad: Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum, n°87-89, pp. 252-257. Expert : Monsieur Alexis Renard