Osian's Auction Catalogue The Masterpieces Series | March 2010

53 The Masterpieces SerieS 24 s AdequAin (1930 – 1987) Woman in the arms of a beheaded man Oil and felt pen on canvas, 1972 S/d in Urdu ‘Sadequain 72 Lahore’ l.l. 31.9 x 16.7 in (81.0 x 42.5 cm) Provenance THE OSIAN’S COLLECTION Acquired from the Bonham’s Auction, London INR 1,600,000 – 2,400,000 US$ 33,330 – 50,000 This work is part of the Hope Series, in which the artist portrays social gluttony, double standards and materialism. This is a painting with the artist’s signature headless and often gruesome, macabre figures - he could not visualize Art without criticism of society. M. F. Husain writes of Sadequain’s spiritually infused sense of social critique: “…… Ruffled newspapers spread on the floor. Suddenly Sadequain bent over the newspapers reshuffling. Thought he is about to read out a shocking news item. Instead he took out a broad point pen. Scribbled on newsprint the Arabic alphabet ‘noon’ twice, two semi circles side by side with a dot in each. Sadequain stopped there and chuckled. Said, ‘whenever so called Mullahs see this in my country, they proclaimed the nudity of feminine breasts immoral’. Later the two alphabets joined together to become the word AINUL YAQEEN and there ‘Mullahs’ are terribly disappointed (The original is my personal collection). Let me go back to Sadequain’s hotel room where couple of thirsty glasses in search of ‘saqi’ almost crinkling half a couplet ‘PILA DE OAK MEN SAQI AGAR PAIMANA NAHIN DETA – NADE’. Sadequain with his quivering fingers dug out from his memory trunk a treasure of drawing on Sufi saint SARMAD. A series of drawing on SAR- BA-CUF, holding ones own head in palm confronting the faces of existence. Sadequain on his arrival in India went straight to the tombs of Sarmad and Ghalib. His JAM in his hands to touch the tombstones of two of his GURUS. To listen to such serene silence at Sarmad and Ghalib.” – M. F. Husain, Sadequain Foundation website, www. sadequainfoundation.com, Accessed 21 February 2010.