An opaque watercolor painting depicting a seated figure blowing into a small, thin instrument with eight grey and white snakes slithering nearby. Behind them is a rocky landscape with trees. There is script writing above the image
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A rectangular opaque watercolor painting depicting a seated figure on the bottom-left with eight grey and white snakes slithering nearby on the right. The figure is sitting on a pale pink organic shape with flat, white steps behind and behind the snakes is a bright yellow field. The person is wearing a short, pale green skirt and necklaces and holding a small, thin instrument up to their mouth. Behind them is a landscape with organic shaped, pink rocks, green trees, and a blue background. There is one snake curled up near the trees. There is script writing above the image and the painting is framed with a red band that is decorated with blue and white flower motifs.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1963.74
People
Jai Kisan of Malpura, Indian
Title
Asavari Ragini (painting, recto; text, verso), from a Ragamala (Garland of Melodies) Series
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
c. 1756
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan, Malpura
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/12236

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper; Rajput Style, Malpura School
Dimensions
31.6 x 21.5 cm (12 7/16 x 8 7/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Eric Schroeder, Cambridge, MA (by 1963), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1963.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Eric Schroeder
Accession Year
1963
Object Number
1963.74
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
On the recto side of the page, is a depiction of the Asavari Ragini, which is commonly represented by a female heroine that charms snakes either through her dance or through her music. In this painting, the female figure, bare-chested and wearing a skirt made of leaves, plays a flute while seated on a rock. A group of cobras slithers towards her. In the background on the left is a lingam, the aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva, with a snake nearby. The snake is one of Shiva’s attributes. This painting is a pictorial metaphor for a raga, a musical phrase that is used as the basis for improvisation.

This folio belongs to a Ragamala or "Garland of Melodies" series produced in Malpura. The text in the top register of the folio in this series is written alternatively in gold and silver. The use of such precious materials might suggest elite patronage. Based on the colophon, this painting was the last page of the album. The colophon is written in Devanagari script, and gives the details that the artist Jai Kisan completed the series in 1756 CE. Three other folios of the same series are in the Harvard Art Museums’ collections: 1960.681, 1963.73, 1969.174. Rajput, Rajasthani, Malpura School.

Publication History

  • Klaus Ebeling, Ragamala Painting, Ravi Kumar (Basel, Paris, Delhi, 1973), p. 212
  • Sven Gahlin, The Courts of India: Indian Miniatures from the Collection of the Fondation Custodia (Paris, 1991), p. 66
  • The Feminine Mystique in Indian Art, auct. cat. (San Francisco, CA: Art Passages, 2015), p.22

Exhibition History

  • The Music Room, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/22/1984 - 11/11/1984
  • Where Traditions Meet: Painting in India from the 15th-17th Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/05/2003 - 12/07/2003
  • 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/20/2015 - 07/21/2015
  • Water Stories: river goddesses, ancestral rites, and climate crisis, Radcliffe Institute Johnson-Kulukundis Family Gallery, 09/18/2023 - 12/16/2023

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu