The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 16, 2022

Krishna Under a Canopy

c. 1680

Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Raghogarh

Gum tempera and gold on paper

Page: 26.7 x 17.8 cm (10 1/2 x 7 in.); Miniature: 22.9 x 14 cm (9 x 5 1/2 in.)

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.184

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Krishna holds a scepter, or mace, which is one of the weapons of the god Vishnu, of whom he is an incarnation.

Description

This tranquil, languid scene on a white marble, carpeted terrace depicts the god Krishna in the place of an earthly prince. A female attendant at the left fans him, while he and another lady each hold a rose. The open doorway in the background with the rolled-up curtain above suggests the intimacy of an imminent encounter inside.

Inscriptions

Inscription

2

Inscription Translation

[Number] 2

Provenance
September 19, 2008
(Sotheby's, New York, NY, September 19, 2008, lot 244, sold to Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer)
2008-2018
Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
2018-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Sotheby's, New York. Indian & Southeast Asian Works of Art. September 19, 2008. Lot 244
Sotheby's, New York. Indian & Southeast Asian Works of Art. September 19, 2008.
Lot 244
Exhibition history

Supernatural Love - Indian Gallery 242 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 1-September 9, 2019).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.184