THE COLLECTION

The Collection of the Rasaja Foundation comprises mainly of paintings and early Indian prints which may be classified under the following heads:

Paintings executed in the Company style, so named after the East India Company, which flourished in different parts of the country during the 18th and 19th centuries. Jaya has characterized this style as one representing the first wave of massive influence from the west which changed not only the subjects of painting but also its aesthetic aims and patronage. The artists also experimented with a number of media such as ivory, glass and mica.

Portrait of a Maratha Lady, Company Style, Maharashtra , oil on paper.

Glass painting and its technique was absorbed into India from China in the eighteenth century. It found widespread patronage and this technique was absorbed into many regional styles. It was expressed through a variety of artifacts and in all it remained eclectic and robust in style. Jaya was the first Indian art historian to make a serious study of this genre and her collection is replete with a variety of samples collected from different centres of production.

Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha riding Nandi. Avadh, Tempera on glass.

Painting on ivory was a form of miniature in watercolour introduced in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Mainly used for portraits, it reached a level of excellence in the nineteenth century. Two outstanding items in ivory in the Collection comprise 'Ganesha Riding his Mount', from Karnataka and 'Judith and Holofernes', executed for Christian patrons. Judith is portrayed in western dress, the plants show Mughal impact while the brick wall is in Company style.

Worship of Ganesha, Patna , tempera on mica.