Kolkata: Hemen Mazumdar's masterpiece "Saqi" is a major highlight of the upcoming Collectors Choice event hosted by AstaGuru. This exceptional oil on board work, which represents a shift from the artist's celebrated portfolio of wet sari series, carries an expected price between Rs 1.2 crore and Rs 2 crore.
Regarded as an exceptionally complex masterpiece to surface on the market lately, this painting offers a striking departure from the artist's traditional style. While the creator was highly renowned throughout the royal estates and elite residences of colonial India for crafting highly sensual portraits of women with remarkable physical presence, this specific canvas presents a more subtle quality of disciplined control.
The subject embodies the traditional cupbearer from Persian literature, a figure historically laden with overlapping themes of romantic yearning and spiritual piety.
Speaking about this oil on board work at the June 22-23 auction, Sunny Chandiramani, director, client relations, AstaGuru Auction House, said, "Rather than leaning into a simplistic interpretation, Mazumdar presents a woman entirely engrossed in a gesture of hospitality, her downcast eyes and radiant pale clothing conveying a sense of internal illumination achieved through a sophisticated layering of pigments. By keeping the person receiving the wine entirely outside the boundaries of the canvas, the composition shifts from a standard narrative piece into an isolated, reflective instant that completely ignores the audience."
The historical provenance of passing through the notable collection of Sardar Bahadur Sir Sobha Singh further elevates the importance of this creation. Artist Samindranath Majumdar highlighted this piece as one of his grand-uncle's most significant creations.
"This particular painting appears to have been done in the early 1930s when my grand-uncle was based in Kashmir. The figure's attire matches with the Kashmiri culture. I have seen one variation of this work too. He frequently published watercolour variations of his works in popular magazines like 'Mashik Basumati' and 'Bharatborsho'. It was a deliberate and calculated strategy aimed at sharing his art with middle-class Bengali households, which effectively cemented his widespread popularity across the region," Majumdar said.
While this specific image is notable for omitting the artist's trademark imagery of voluptuous figures in wet saris, Majumdar observed that a delicate sensuality remains. "A subtle undertone of eroticism is still deliberately woven into the composition. The specific tilt and fluid physical movement of the woman as she pours the drink intentionally accentuate this refined grace and allure."
