Radha thumbnail 1
Radha thumbnail 2
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Radha

Painting
ca. 1660 - ca. 1670 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, the nayika (heroine) is here interpreted as Radha whose secret meeting place with Krishna is in danger of being revealed; the tree outside her house is to be cut down as per the instructions of her suspicious husband. Radha snatches the axe from the hands of a bewildered boy and throws it into a pond to prevent him from carrying out the orders. In the absence of the husband, Krishna sits indoors in a luxuriously decorated chamber calmly watching the scene outside.
Chocolate brown background with, at the top, a streak of sky. Pavilion with grey pillars and pale blue inner wall with three alcoves containing golden vessels, the centre one with two apples. At the bottom a dark green plinth, with projecting shape, perhaps a simplified version of a 'monster-head'. This is an architectural type which became common in painting of the hill-regions.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleRadha (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour on paper
Brief description
Painting, Radha throws axe into pond, Rasamanjari illustration, opaque watercolour on paper, Basohli, ca. 1660-1670
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, the nayika (heroine) is here interpreted as Radha whose secret meeting place with Krishna is in danger of being revealed; the tree outside her house is to be cut down as per the instructions of her suspicious husband. Radha snatches the axe from the hands of a bewildered boy and throws it into a pond to prevent him from carrying out the orders. In the absence of the husband, Krishna sits indoors in a luxuriously decorated chamber calmly watching the scene outside.
Chocolate brown background with, at the top, a streak of sky. Pavilion with grey pillars and pale blue inner wall with three alcoves containing golden vessels, the centre one with two apples. At the bottom a dark green plinth, with projecting shape, perhaps a simplified version of a 'monster-head'. This is an architectural type which became common in painting of the hill-regions.
Dimensions
  • Width: 275mm
  • With border height: 235mm
  • With border width: 330mm
  • Height: 180mm
Red border with thin grey margin, white rules and shaded surround, the portico projecting into the border on the right.
Content description
Radha's secret meeting place with Krishna is in danger of being revealed; the tree outside her house is to be cut down as per the instructions of her suspicious husband. Radha snatches the axe from the hands of a bewildered boy and throws it into a pond to prevent him from carrying out the orders. In the absence of the husband, Krishna sits indoors in a luxuriously decorated chamber calmly watching the scene outside.
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • (written in Takri at top of object)
    Translation
    'the act of the resourceful mistress'
    Transliteration
    'kria vidagdha'
  • (written in Takri on left border)
    Translation
    '23'
  • [Rasamanjari verse] (Sanskrit; translation by Randhawa and Bhambri (1967))
    Translation
    'In the winter season, her husband having told the servant to cut the ber tree, the doe-eyed nayika dropped the axe in the water'
Gallery label
(01/08/2017)
THE RESOURCEFUL MISTRESS
Opaque watercolour and gold with applied beetle wing-case fragments on paper
Basohli, Punjab Hills
c. 1660-70
IS.48-1953
From the collection of
Sir William Rothenstein
This work is from a series of paintings illustrating the Rasamanjari or ‘blossom-cluster of delight’ by the poet Bhanudatta. It describes the behaviour of lovers, here depicted as Radha and Krishna. On the instructions of Radha’s suspicious husband, a servant is about to cut down the ber tree where Radha and Krishna secretly meet, but Radha throws his axe into the pond. Krishna is shown in the house, calming watching the scene outside
Object history
From the collection of Mr. Michael Rothenstein; IS.46 to 73-1953 were purchased for £300.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Indian paintings from the Punjab Hills : a survey and history of Pahari miniature painting / by W. G. Archer ; foreword by Sherman E. Lee. London :Delhi: Sotheby Parke Bernet ;Oxford University Press, 1973 Number: 0856670022 p. 36, cat. no. 4 vi
  • Swallow, D., Stronge, S., Crill, R., Koezuka, T., editor and translator, "The Art of the Indian Courts. Miniature Painting and Decorative Arts", Victoria & Albert Museum and NHK Kinki Media Plan, 1993. p. 124, cat. no. 108
  • Swallow, D., Stronge, S., Crill, R., Koezuka, T., editor and translator, "The Art of the Indian Courts. Miniature Painting and Decorative Arts", Victoria & Albert Museum and NHK Kinki Media Plan, 1993. p. 124, cat. no. 108
  • Ayers, J. Oriental Art in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London 1983, ISBN 0-85667-120-7 p. 79
Collection
Accession number
IS.48-1953

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Record createdJuly 14, 2000
Record URL
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