RARE KALIGHAT PAT PAINTING – A BENGALI BABU WITH ROSE, DOG AND BIRD IN CAGE

THIS EXCEPTIONAL KALIGHAT PAT DEPICTS A STYLIZED BENGALI BABU – A QUINTESSENTIAL URBAN ELITE FIGURE – STANDING CONFIDENTLY WITH A ROSE IN ONE HAND AND A WALKING STICK IN THE OTHER. TO HIS SIDE, A LOYAL DOG SITS ON A STONE PEDESTAL, CHAINED, WHILE ABOVE HIM HANGS.A CAGE HOLDING A BIRD, PERHAPS SYMBOLIZING CAPTIVITY OR THE CONTRAST OF FREEDOM. THE FIGURE’S DISTINCT ATTIRE – FEATURING A LONG TUNIC, TRADITIONAL STRIPED PAJAMAS, POINTED SHOES, AND A SHOULDER DRAPE – EMBODIES THE NOSTALGIC ELEGANCE OF 19TH CENTURY BENGAL.

THE COMPOSITION DISPLAYS THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS OF THE KALIGHAT SCHOOL: SIMPLIFIED FORMS, FLUID OUTLINES, SUBTLE COLOR WASHES, AND A HUMOROUS, SOMETIMES SATIRICAL, SOCIAL COMMENTARY. THE SUBJECT REFLECTS THE COLONIAL-ERA INTEREST IN MODERNITY

18.5 x 14 INCHES WITH MOUNTBOARD AND 14.5 X 10.5 INCHES ACTUAL