Balbhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha thumbnail 1
Balbhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Balbhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha

Painting
ca. 1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Painting, in water colour on paper, with tin alloy details, represents the images of the deities in wooden form as worshipped at the Puri temple with their arms raised. The face of Balabhadra is white, that of Subhadra is baize and Jagannatha's face is black. The images have large wide eyes and depicted with ornate tiara and thick garland with silver lines. Balabhadra and Jagannatha have Vaishnavite marking in silver on their forehead. All three images have fine silver multi-string necklaces. There are silver decorations suspended from the tiaras. Balabhadra's and Jagannath's tiaras are more elaborate than that worn by Subhadra. Each image has silver colour trimmings on their clothings (all silver details are executed in tin alloy).


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleBalbhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in water colour on paper, with tin alloy details
Brief description
Painting, Balbhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha, watercolour and tin alloy on paper, Kalighat, Kolkata, ca. 1850
Physical description
Painting, in water colour on paper, with tin alloy details, represents the images of the deities in wooden form as worshipped at the Puri temple with their arms raised. The face of Balabhadra is white, that of Subhadra is baize and Jagannatha's face is black. The images have large wide eyes and depicted with ornate tiara and thick garland with silver lines. Balabhadra and Jagannatha have Vaishnavite marking in silver on their forehead. All three images have fine silver multi-string necklaces. There are silver decorations suspended from the tiaras. Balabhadra's and Jagannath's tiaras are more elaborate than that worn by Subhadra. Each image has silver colour trimmings on their clothings (all silver details are executed in tin alloy).
Dimensions
  • Height: 447mm (maximum)
  • Width: 280mm (maximum)
31/07/13 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013; object irregular in shape
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
'Jagannatha (an incarnation of Vishnu) and Valarama with their sister Subhadrai' (Inscribed in English at the bottom of the picture.)
Object history
The painting was originally acquired from G. Wild, by the Department of Prints and Drawings in 1889. It is now on permanent loan to the Indian Section.

W.G. Archer listed the painting as in Period I:1800 - 1850 in the Short Catalogue. He dated it to c.1830.

RP 51/2237
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Archer, W.G., Kalighat Paintings: a Catalogue and Introduction, Victoria and Albert Museum, London Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1971, pp47-48, 4,ii. Archer, W.G., Bazaar Paintings of Calcutta: the Style of Kalighat, Victoria and Albert Museum, London Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1953, p.21.
Collection
Accession number
D.653-1889

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Record createdNovember 24, 2008
Record URL
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