Lot 279: A PAHARI SCHOOL INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTING DEPICTING A SEATED SADHU IN A LANDSCAPE, INDIA, 18TH - 19TH CENTURY

An 18th or 19th-century Indian miniature painting, attributed to the Pahari school of North India. The work is executed in opaque watercolour on paper and depicts a seated holy man or sage in profile. The figure is rendered with a long white beard and hair, dressed in simple white robes and traditional jewellery. He is shown in a meditative posture upon a patterned mat beneath a stylized tree, holding a string of prayer beads. A small golden water vessel rests on the ground beside him. The background illustrates a serene natural setting featuring rolling green hills where two lions rest in harmony with the surroundings. A stream in the foreground is populated with pink lotus blossoms and green lily pads, accompanied by several birds including egrets and a songbird. This iconographic arrangement represents the spiritual power of the sage to pacify wild nature, symbolizing universal peace or ahimsa. The painting is mounted within a cream-coloured card with ruled borders and set in a gilded wooden frame.

16 by 13cm