[EROTICA / CURIOSA]. A quantity of three original paintings on recycled leaves from the same Indian Urdu manuscript

India, 18th or 19th century (?). Very good. Three matted paintings (matte size: 323 x 266; leaf size: 215 x 145 mm; visible image: 170 x 115 mm), hinged to clear Plexiglas so that the manuscript texts on the versos are perfectly legible. Leaves with some soiling, edges slightly frayed along inner gutter margins. A remarkable assemblage of three erotic Indian paintings, all of have been executed on the same unidentified Urdu manuscript. The settings are intriguing, and the subjects are set within brooding, fantastical landscapes, alongside a stream (or lake) festooned with lily pads and lotus flowers. They depict:

1. A woman holding a large (truncated) ejaculating phallus;
2. A flying phallus carrying a basket of four phalluses, accompanied by a winged vagina;
3. A man holding a bowl couples with a four-armed goddess, presumably a devotee of Kali: in her hands she holds a sword, a spear, and an ax, in the fourth a lotus flower.

All three paintings were finely rendered by an artist of considerable skill. This are are very high quality pieces.

THE MANUSCRIPT one which the paintings appear was written in Urdu and has resisted identification. As always, we are grateful to Kelly Tuttle for her scholarly generosity.

MUST BE SEEN TO BE FULLY APPRECIATED. (Inventory #: 4048)