Harvard Art Museums > 1997.236: Hindu Goddess Ganga with Two Female Attendants Carrying Fly-Whisks Paintings Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Hindu Goddess Ganga with Two Female Attendants Carrying Fly-Whisks , 1997.236,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Nov 21, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/213482. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1997.236 Title Hindu Goddess Ganga with Two Female Attendants Carrying Fly-Whisks Classification Paintings Work Type painting Date 20th century Places Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan Culture Indian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/213482 Physical Descriptions Medium Opaque watercolor and gold on paper Dimensions 40 x 30 cm (15 3/4 x 11 13/16 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of James E. Robinson III in honor of Stuart Cary Welch and Alve John Erickson Accession Year 1997 Object Number 1997.236 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Seated with legs folded on a golden throne is the Hindu goddess Ganga, the divine personification of the River Ganges. She wears a chaniya choli, a type of dress which consists of a long golden skirt and a yellow crop top decorated with flowers and gold trim. She wears an elaborate golden crown, earrings, and a large pendant necklace. Ganga bears four arms: her lower left has her palm facing down; her upper left is bent upward and hold a lotus blossom; her lower right has her palm facing upward; her upper right is bent upward and holds a gold water jug. A bright green halo with a gold border surrounds her head, above which is a floating umbrella (chhatri). The throne floats on water, which is covered in lotuses. Four makara, a crocodile-like creature of Hindu mythology and Ganga’s mount, recline by each throne leg. Behind a blue decorative fence with a gold frame and flanking either side are two female attendants holding fly-whisks above their heads. The background is an orange wall decorated with pairs of rose buds. An ochre curtain with gold flowers and a green border is rolled up at the top. The painting is framed by a yellow inner border and a red outer border. Rajput Style. Exhibition History Women in South Asian Art, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/26/2017 - 01/07/2018 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 was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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
