Krishna Seated with Four Gopis, Peacock and Mirror - Miniature on Reused Devanagari Ledger Leaf (Rajasthan, Jaipur/Kishangarh circle), c. 1860-1890 Anonymous

Artistic Context & Overview Krishna, haloed and crowned, sits beside a lotus-edged watercourse as four gopis attend him: one plays a long-necked tanpura, another raises a peacock-feather fan, a third offers a round mirror (āyina), and the nearest gopi reclines against Krishna's lap. The dark, stippled grove, stacked hills, and pink-walled hut are characteristic of the Jaipur/Kishangarh idiom in the later 19th century, inflected by Kangra lyricism. The grouping emphasizes intimate bhakti rather than court spectacle. 2) Visual / Technical Description Medium: Opaque watercolor (gouache) with gold on paper. Borders: Triple yellow/red inner rules; outer brown field cut from a written sheet. Palette: Olive and bottle greens, saffron yellow, mauve and rose; Krishna rendered in light blue with peacock plume and jeweled crown. Iconography: Tanpura, peacock fan (morchal), round mirror, peacock at the stream's edge; hut to the right; night sky with low clouds. Stylistic notes: Clean contour line, stippled foliage, and textile patterning typical of ca. 1860- 90 Rajasthan workshop production. 3) Material / Manuscript Context Support: a reused Devanagari account/ledger (khātā) leaf. The right margin and the entire reverse carry vertical entries of names with rupee figures, many underlined or struck through. Bookkeeping terms visible include jamā (credit/deposit), udhār (loan/on credit), kharch (expense), and hisāb (balance). Three round piercings at the lower margin suggest prior storage on a string/pin board, consistent with merchant-house practice. 4) Condition (Summary) ; pigments bright and stable. Reverse: writing legible in parts; toned with light stains; several crossed-out lines and arithmetic checks; no tears through the painted field. 5) Provenance / Significance Krishna-with-gopis idyll and a recycled ledger sheet is a hallmark of late-19th-century Jaipur/Kishangarh bazaar workshop practice. The inclusion of the mirror and peacock lends courtly resonance and display value. 6) Translation & Analysis of Text (front margin & reverse, line-by-line) Script: Devanagari (vernacular Old Hindi/Marwari). Ink: brown-black. Layout: narrow vertical entries separated by drawn rules; each ends with a rupee figure often underlined. Line Transliteration (visible fragment) English sense Confidence F-1 . khātā . "Account / ledger" Medium F-2 . rūpiyā 25 . Amount: 25 rupees Medium F-3 . jamā . "Credit / deposit" Medium F-4 . udhār . "On credit / loan" Medium F-5 . nām likhyo . "Name recorded/written" Low F-6 .-ji . Name with honorific -ji (surname unclear) Low F-7 .-lāl / -māl . Name fragment ending -lāl/-māl (typical Marwari) Low F-8 .-rām . Name fragment ending -rām (e.g., Harirām) Low F-9 .-dās . Name fragment ending -dās (e.g., Gopāldās) Low R-1 . 101 . Figure (likely amount/account no.) Low R-2 . 952 . Amount/total "952" Low R-3 . 989 . Amount/total "989" Low R-4 . 25 1/2 . "25½" (half-rupee noted) Medium R-5 . prāpt . "Received" Medium R-6 . kharch . "Expense/outlay" Medium R-7 . hisāb . "Account/balance" Low R-8 . tārīkh . [numerals abraded] The word "date" appears; numerals not legible Low R-9 .-singh / -chand . Name fragments ending -singh, -chand Low R-10 . likhyo . "written/entered by ." (scribe flourish) Low Names & dates: Only **fragments** of common Marwari endings (-ji, -lāl/-māl, -rām, -dās, -singh, -chand) are legible; I do not see a complete surname. No secure Gregorian year appears; the larger figures behave like monetary totals rather than dates. 7) Conclusion Attribution: Rajasthan, Jaipur/Kishangarh circle, c. 1860-1890. Subject: Krishna seated with gopis; tanpura, mirror, peacock. Support: Reused Devanagari khātā (ledger) leaf with accounting terms and rupee amounts. Front has no dedicatory inscription; visible writing belongs to the recycled support. ESTIMATED VALUE Auction Estimate: $700 - $1,400 USD Retail Range: $1,500 - $2,600 U