Alice Heeramaneck, Masterpieces of Indian Painting, Verona, 1984 pl. 230, p. 231

Fair and stable overall condition. The image is cropped and missing its borders. Losses to paper on the upper left corner and lower edge clearly visible in catalog illustration. Slight staining to grey background throughout, also visible in catalog illustration. A vertical crease on the right and a diagonal crease from middle right to lower center are also seen in the catalog illustration. Slight scuffing, cracking to pigments on faces of some of the ladies. 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 crowned blue-skinned lord, holding a silver ankus (elephant goad) and a lotus blossom, sits on a composite "waqwaq" elephant comprised of female musicians and dancers.  A winding cobra completes its trunk and four ducks appear as "shoes" on its feet.

Fancifu𝓡l depictions of composite animals particularly elephants, camels and horses likely had originally come to India via Persian and Indo-Islamic sources - however here our mahout is depicted blue and crowned💜 - as an evocation of Krishna.

The stylistic provenance of this work is elusive, with elements of Deccani, Rajasthani and Pahari elements intermixing, like the composite subject itself. However the manner of the idealized facial type, color palette, clothing styles of the female cholis and dhotis and not least of all the fantastic composite subject itself, points🦂 to a possible Northern Deccan locale - perhaps Aurangabad - where the confluences of Rajasthani and Deccani painting styles visually meet.

A Deccani painting, dateable to the early Seventeenth Century, of a "Composite Elephant" comprised of female musicians and dancers etc. is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York (accession no. 1985.247).  Another Provincial Mughal example with Krishna ꧂as mahout is in the Victoria and Albert Museum London (accession no. IM.22-1916).