Fair and stable overall condition as viewed. Abrasions to pigment on the red folio border, the lower margin of the image, the white bedspread and scattered areas along the left edge are all visible in catalog illustration. The red tent in the background is in very good condition although it appears abraded in the catalog illustration due to strong light used in photography. A few light creases to the tent cover on both sides. This lot is exhibited in a temporary frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A lord and his beloved gaze into each others eyes, holding each other close as he caresses her breast.  Their white covered bed lies waiting, strewn with flower petals and a yellow garland.  Within a brilliant cinnabar-red tented enclosure.  Tall palm trees bursting in the background as birds call out to each other.  A handmaiden leans towards them and pours yet another tiny golden cup of intoxicating liquor from a golden flask.  The composition a striking abstraction of brilliantly colored angles and curves, in repeating reds and yellow.  The yellow register at the bottom of the composition, with two closed water jars and flowering plants, echoes the uninscribed yellow panel above.

Stylistically the work is closely linked with paintings produced at the royal Udaipur atelier of Maharana Jagat Singh I, lead by the artist Sahibdin - the master most associated with Mewar painting during the first half of the Seventeenth Century - as recognizable by its color palette, facial types and costume details like the diaphanous outer saris and handmaidens' jewelry.  Although the angular projecting skirt of the right handmaiden harkens to even earlier "Chaurapanchasika" paintings, the more portrait-like face of the nayaka (lord) reveals the increasing influence of Mughal reali♕sm, which was r🏅apidly becoming fashionable at Udaipur and other royal ateliers across Rajasthan. 

For an earlier Mewar Ragamala folio showing a similar bi-fold tent composition see The Jean Pozzi Collection, Palais Galleria, Paris, 1970, Lot 2.