Talha Rathore (B.1970) Untitled signed 'Talha Rathore' in Urdu and dated '96' lower left; artist name, 'Untitled' and medium verso ink and gouache on wasli, framed 21.9 x 17cm (8 5/8 x 6 11/16in). Footnotes: Provenance Property from a private collection, Australia. Trained at the National College of Arts, Lahore, Rathore belongs to the pioneering generation of contemporary miniature artists who redefined the practice for a global stage. Rooted in the classical discipline of miniature painting, her work retains the painstaking precision of line and surface, while simultaneously transforming the idiom into a space for contemporary expression. Rathore's early practice, of which this work is an important example, reveals her ability to balance tradition and innovation through a language that is at once personal and universal. In Untitled, two trees are depicted at opposite ends of the composition, leaning delicately toward one another. A thin thread ties their branches together, binding them across space, against a glowing orange ground that radiates both warmth and tension. The presence of a floral border at the top recalls the conventions of classical miniature painting, yet Rathore subverts expectation by using it to frame a scene suffused with modern metaphor. The two trees, fragile yet tethered, suggest themes of distance, connection, and enduring bonds, motifs that would become central to her practice in later years. Executed with great economy of means and formal clarity, this early work demonstrates Rathore's ability to distil vast emotional registers into the intimate scale of the miniature. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * * VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing