2001.336: The Wedding of Krishna and Rukmini (painting, recto), folio from a Bhagavata Purana series

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2001.336

Title

The Wedding of Krishna and Rukmini (painting, recto), folio from a Bhagavata Purana series

Classification

Manuscripts

Work Type

manuscript folio

Date

c. 1820

Places

Creation Place: South Asia, India, Northern India, Pahari Region

Culture

Indian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/165789

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Dimensions

21.11 x 27.94 cm (8 5/16 x 11 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Kenneth Galbraith

Accession Year

2001

Object Number

2001.336

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

The painting depicts the wedding ceremony of Krishna and Rukmini, Krishna's principal wife and queen. The blue-skinned Hindu god is seated beside Rukmini, identified by the caption above their heads. They face priests who conduct the wedding ceremony, and the sacred altar of fire is between them. In Hindu wedding ceremonies, the bride and groom perform a ritual in which they circumambulate the holy fire, praying and exchanging vows of duty, love, fidelity, and respect. Two female musicians sit on the far left, and two women watch the ceremony from a window. This folio most likely belonged to a Bhagavata Purana series produced in the Pahari region of Northern India. Other folios from the same Bhagavata Purana series in the Harvard Art Museum’s collection are objects 2001.335, 2001.337, 2001.338. Rajput, Pahari.

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