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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1974.125
Title
Krishna Sporting with the Cowherds (painting, recto; text, verso), folio from a Bhagavata Purana series
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: The 'Dispersed' Bhagavata Purana Series; also known as the 'Palam' Bhagavata Purana or 'Sa Mitharam - Sa Nana' Bhagavata Purana.
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
c. 1520 - 1540
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-Agra region
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216429

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink and opaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions
17.9 x 23.8 cm (7 1/16 x 9 3/8 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bienstock
Accession Year
1974
Object Number
1974.125
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This folio depicts young Krishna and Balarama engaging in playful activities in Vrindavan. The blue-skinned Hindu god Krishna, his elder half-brother Balarama, and the cowherds accompanying them dance whirling in circles, sing songs, and play music on flutes and cymbals. The artist shows Krishna in various leisure moments in two registers, featuring him five times across the folio.

This painting belongs to the 'Dispersed' Bhagavata Purana series, produced in the early 16th century, possibly in Mathura. The series, possibly consisting of 360 such folios, is based on the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana, which describes the story of Krishna, particularly his childhood and youth. This series was one of South Asia's earliest illustrated Bhagavata Purana manuscripts. Each illustration is also accompanied by the text corresponding to the image on the reverse, written in Sanskrit. Other folios from the same Bhagavata Purana series in the Harvard Art Museum’s collection are objects 1963.145, 1974.124, 1974.126, 1974.127, 1992.283, 1995.66, 1995.67, 1995.68. Caurapancasika-group style.

Text on Verso: Bhagavata Purana, Book Ten, Chapter 18, verse 10 - verse 14 (first half). This folio is followed by 1974.127, which bears the second half of verse 14.

Exhibition History

  • The Arts of Krishna Bhakti, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 03/09/1983 - 05/01/1983
  • Re-View: Arts of India & the Islamic Lands, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/26/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • Re-View: S231 (Islamic rotation: 1) Color in the Oasis, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/30/2008 - 03/29/2009

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