Osian's Auction Catalogue Select Masterpieces of Indian Modern and Contemporary Art | June 2009

15 1 J. Sultan Ali (1920 – 1990) Kammu Katta Oil on canvas, 1973 Signed in Devanagari ‘Ali’ and S/d in English ‘Sultan Ali 1973’ l.r. 31.2 x 53.2 in (79.4 x 134.8 cm) Inscribed in English ‘J. SULTAN ALI, KAMMU. KATTA, 79 x 135 cms. (31’’ x 53’’) OIL ON CANVAS, 1973.’ on verso INR 1,600,000 – 2,000,000 USD 33,330 – 41,670 In Sultan Ali’s mature works inspiration comes directly from the chastity of forms in tribal art. His predilection has been to intersperse nature and its relationship with man in a system of codes/ symbols that he uses and re-uses. He revisits ‘the given’ – the religion, the mythic world of gods and goddesses, re-structuring and personalizing the systems of signs and symbols. The characters in his works are derivations of earthen gods such as nagadevatas, bhoodevi (earth goddess), fire, water, sun-god, and his canvas becomes the stage where forces of nature freeze as pictorial notations, lending humour to his works. Profound themes and thoughts such as victory of good over evil, peace are communicated playfully. The detailed drawings show his draftsmanship. The text becomes analogous to the entire composition, and acts as a decorative element crucial to the picture-space contributing in the relative positioning of the main figure. Thus in Sultan Ali’s world bird, beast, bull, snake, owl, man are brought together in an intimate relationship.