- Identification and Creation
-
- Object Number
- 1972.358
- People
-
Unknown Artist
- Title
- Bhairavi Ragini, illustration from a Ragamala (Garland of Melodies) Series
- Classification
- Paintings
- Work Type
- painting
- Date
- c. 1700
- Places
- Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan, Bikaner
- Culture
- Indian
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/216271
- Physical Descriptions
-
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; Rajput Style, Bikaner School
- Dimensions
- 15.24 x 11.75 cm (6 x 4 5/8 in.)
- Acquisition and Rights
-
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Kenneth Galbraith
- Accession Year
- 1972
- Object Number
- 1972.358
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- 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
- Bhairavi Ragini is commonly represented by a young heroine (nayika) worshipping at a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Here, in this painting, the female figure kneels in front of a lingam, the aniconic form of Shiva, while chanting hymns in honor of the god and playing symbols. A female musician stands outside the shrine playing the mridagam, a type of drum. A white bull in the left corner represents Nandi, Shiva’s mount. This painting is a pictorial metaphor for a raga, a musical phrase that is used as the basis for improvisation. Rajput Style, Bikaner 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 69/figure 17
Kim Masteller, "Pious Love: Iconography of the Nayika as a Devotee", ed. Harsha V. Dehejia, Roli Books (India, 2004), p 179 - 180
- Exhibition History
-
Viewing Architecture: Paintings and Photographs of Indian Architecture, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/14/1984 - 09/17/1984
Ambassador's Choice: The Galbraith Collection of Indian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 02/15/1986 - 04/06/1986
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
Women in South Asian Art, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/26/2017 - 01/07/2018
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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