An Illustration to a Hamir Hath Series: Alauddin Khilji Receives Murhathi and Her Entourage, Attributed to Sajnu, India, Mandi, circa 1810

German Private Collection.

Sotheby’s New York, 1st April 2005, lot 116.

The Hamir Hath (‘The Obstinacy of Hamir’), is a fourteenth century Rajasthani ballad which narrates the tale of Hamir Dev (r.1283-1301), the last Chauhan ruler of Ranthambore, who was defeated by the forces of Alauddin Khilji, Sultan of Delhi.

The style of the present painting is closely comparable to a set of twenty-one illustrations from a known Hamir Hath series which was painted by Sajnu in 1810. The set bears an inscription which states that it was presented to Raja Isvari Sen of Mandi (1788-1826) by the artist Sajnu on the 16^th day of the month of Magha, Vikram samvat 1867 (1810 AD). Sajnu is thought to have been a Kangra artist who arrived at the court of Raja Isvari Sen in the early 19^th century, however, the style and subject-matter of illustrations attributed to him also bear close similarities with Guler painting of this period. Although a well-known ballad, the Hamir Hath does not seem to have been illustrated at the Pahari courts prior to 1800. There are at least five known series which were painted in the Guler and Mandi styles in the early nineteenth century. For further discussion, see W.G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, Vol. I, London, 1973, pp. 360-62.