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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1973.174
Title
Asavari Ragini (painting, recto; text, verso), from a Ragamala (Garland of Melodies) Series
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
c. 1640-1660
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Central India, Malwa
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/215365

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper.
Dimensions
22.23 x 15.24 cm (8 3/4 x 6 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Kenneth Galbraith
Accession Year
1973
Object Number
1973.174
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
The Asavari Ragini, is commonly represented by a female heroine (nayika) that charms snakes either through her dance or through her music. In this painting, the female figure sits cross-legged under a tree and plays a flute. Several cobras slither towards her. The trees bear peacocks and leaping monkeys. In the foreground, two tigers peer from the thick bush. This painting is a pictorial metaphor for a raga, a musical phrase that is used as the basis for improvisation. This folio most likely belonged to an album of Ragamala or "Garland of Melodies" folios produced in Malwa. Sanskrit verses associated with the raga or the ragini depicted on the recto are written on the verso. Other folios from the same series in the Harvard Art Museum’s collection are objects 1972.346, 1972.347, 1973.156, 1973.157, 1973.158, 1973.173. Rajput, Rajasthani, Malwa School.

Publication History

  • Stuart Cary Welch and Milo Cleveland Beach, Gods, Thrones, and Peacocks Northern Indian Painting from Two Traditions, exh. cat., Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (New York, NY, 1965), page 66/figure 16a
  • Kim Masteller, "Pious Love: Iconography of the Nayika as a Devotee", ed. Harsha V. Dehejia, Roli Books (India, 2004), p. 183 - 184

Exhibition History

  • The Music Room, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/22/1984 - 11/11/1984
  • Gods, Thrones, and Peacocks - Revisited: Northern Indian Miniatures from two Traditions, Fifteenth to Nineteenth Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/31/1990 - 06/10/1990
  • From India's Hills and Plains: Rajput Painting from the Punjab and Rajasthan, 17th through 19th Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/04/1993 - 10/31/1993
  • Rasika, the Discerning Connoisseur: Indian Paintings from the John Kenneth Galbraith Collection, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/1998 - 04/05/1998

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