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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1971.139
Title
Vilaval Ragini, illustration from a Ragamala (Garland of Melodies) Series
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting
Date
18th century
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Himachal Pradesh, Kangra
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216285

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
19.21 x 13.34 cm (7 9/16 x 5 1/4 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Kenneth Galbraith
Accession Year
1971
Object Number
1971.139
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
The poetry that usually accompanies the Vilaval Ragini describes a young heroine (nayika) preparing to meet her lover. She is commonly shown looking into the mirror as she puts on her jewelry. In this painting, she stands on a platform on a terrace admiring herself in a mirror that a female attendant holds up. She holds the mouthpiece of a hookah in her right hand. Four other female attendants surround the heroine; one holds up a fly whisk, one holds the hookah base, one holds a fan, and the final attendant holds a garland of flowers. This painting is a pictorial metaphor for a raga, a musical phrase that is used as the basis for improvisation. Rajput, Pahari, Kangra 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 91/figure 52

Exhibition History

  • Out of the Hills: Miniature Painting from Himalayan India, Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 05/26/1984 - 07/08/1984
  • 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
  • A Colloquium in the Visual Arts, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/31/2024 - 01/05/2025

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