26-27 / 144
26
27
13
JEHANGIR SABAVALA
(1922 ‒ 2011)
The Star that Beckons
Signed and dated 'Sabavala `68' (lower left); inscribed and dated
'"The Star that Beckons" by Jehangir Sabavala `68' (on the reverse)
1968
Oil on canvas
48 x 38.25 in (121.9 x 97 cm)
Rs 2,50,00,000 ‒ 3,50,00,000
$ 396,830 ‒ 555,560
Also included with this lot is a signed copy of Mulk Raj Anand,
Sabavala
,
Sadanga Series, Mumbai: Vakil, Feffer & Simon, 1966, inscribed "For Pat
and Dermott/ with my best wishes/ Jehangir/ Bombay/ April '67"
The present lot published in
Jehangir Sabavala
, 1984
The present lot published in
Pilgrim, Exile, Sorcerer: The Painterly Evolution of Jehangir Sabavala
, 1998
The painting, with its stark landscape
and receding horizon, muted colours
and haunting absences, draws from
a range of artistic, religious and
literary references. “
The Star that
Beckons
(1968) – marks a variation
on
The Journey of the Magi
of five
years before... the solitary prophet
here turns his back on us and walks
into the painting, staff resolutely
in hand, towards the tantalisingly
distant,
seemingly
unattainable
horizon.” (Ranjit Hoskote,
Pilgrim,
Exile, Sorcerer: The Painterly Evolution
of Jehangir Sabavala
, Mumbai:
Eminence Designs Pvt. Ltd., 1998, p.
108) Sabavala’s lone human figure
makes a treacherous journey guided
by a distant star, and the canvas
is weighed down with emotional
content that far exceeds the
physicality of this minimal, pared
down canvas.
PROVENANCE:
Acquired directly from the artist, 1968
Collection of Sir Dermot and Patricia de Trafford
Private Collection, UK
PUBLISHED:
Pria Devi,
Jehangir Sabavala
, New Delhi: Lalit Kala
Akademi, 1984, p. 32 (illustrated)
Ranjit Hoskote,
Pilgrim, Exile, Sorcerer: The Painterly
Evolution of Jehangir Sabavala
, Mumbai: Eminence
Designs Pvt. Ltd., 1998, p. 108 (illustrated)