INDIA, RAJASTHAN, JAIPUR, CIRCA 1760

The Ragamala, or garland of melodies, is a cycle of paintings each of which represents a specific musical mode associated with a time of day and a season. While the visual representations can vary greatly, a certain degree of iconographic consistency can allow the raga to be identified. Gujari Ragini, depicted as a woman playing a vina in a garden or grove, is a morning melody of the rainy season.

The present painting previously belonged to the esteemed collection of the artist and scholar Charles Frederick Ramus (1902-1979), a portion of which is currently housed in the Denver Art Museum. Mr. Ramus' edited volume of lithographs by Daumier are a well known resource published by Dover books, and his own artworks are represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art.