231 - Cow and calf; Agra, India, 18th century.

Cow and calf; Agra, India, 18th century. Carved marble. Features a label on the base. Measurements: 8 x 9 x 7 cm. Provenance: Estate of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. Artistic and heritage collection originating in the legacy of Catalan painters Ramon Martí Alsina (1826–1894), a seminal figure of 19th-century Catalan Realism, and his son Ricard Martí Aguiló (1857–1935). Passed down and enriched across successive generations, the collection brings together works from the original holdings of both artists alongside acquisitions made by their descendants. Dedicated to preserving and recovering the family legacy, the descendants actively reacquired works by the painters as they entered the market, progressively expanding the collection to encompass paintings, sculptures, archaeological artifacts, and other items of artistic and historical significance. The sculpture, carved from marble, depicts a cow nursing her calf. The pair of animals is accompanied by anthropomorphic figures that may represent domestic deities. Cow nursing her calf and domestic deities. Cows are specially protected animals in the Hindu context; this appears to be an ancestral custom without a clear Hindu religious basis: this protection began during a period of rapid population growth in India, between 2,500 and 3,000 years ago, which drastically reduced the land available for grazing in favor of vegetable and crop cultivation. The number of cows also declined as a result, and the surviving cattle were highly valued for their importance in milk and manure production. It appears that this economic and demographic situation coincided with the spread of Buddhism within the Hindu context, a religion that also provides special protection for these animals.