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Sudama

Painting
ca. 1775-ca. 1790 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Garhwal (made)

Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper. Sudama lifts his hands as he glimpses the golden palace of Krishna in Dwarka. Green wavy hills are around him and above him swirls the sea, sheltering a fish, crocodiles and green and pink monsters. Illustration to the Krishna-Sudama story, Bhagavata Purana.

Object details

Categories
Paintings
Religion
Hinduism
Bonita Trust Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project
Animals and Wildlife
Landscapes
Object type
Painting
TitleSudama (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour on paper
Opaque Watercolour
Water-Colour
Paint
Paper
Painted
Brief description
Painting, Sudama's road to Krishna, painted in opaque watercolour on paper, Garhwal, ca. 1775-1790
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper. Sudama lifts his hands as he glimpses the golden palace of Krishna in Dwarka. Green wavy hills are around him and above him swirls the sea, sheltering a fish, crocodiles and green and pink monsters. Illustration to the Krishna-Sudama story, Bhagavata Purana.
Dimensions
  • Length: 185mm
  • Width: 265mm
  • With border length: 215mm
  • With border width: 295mm
Dark blue margins with white rules. Pink borders flecked with red.
Content description
Sudama lifts his hands as he glimpses the golden palace of Krishna in Dwarka. Green wavy hills are around him and above him swirls the sea, sheltering a fish, crocodiles and green and pink monsters. Illustration to the Krishna-Sunda story, Bhagavata Purana.
Styles
Garhwal
Pahari
Gallery label
(27/9/2013)
THE ROAD TO KRISHNA
Painting from a Krishna-Sudama series
Opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Garhwal, Punjab Hills
c. 1775-90
IS.546-1952
On seeing the golden palace of Krishna in Dwarka, Sudama lifts his hands in wonder. Beyond the green rolling hills is the sea. A fish, crocodiles and water monsters swim in its swirling billows.
Krishna, an incarnation of the god Vishnu, is
a hugely popular deity. Although many of the stories depicted in Pahari (‘Hill’) painting are of his youth, the Krishna-Sudama series concerns his adult life.
Object history
Purchased from the Eric Dickinson collection in 1952.
Subjects depicted
Palace
Fish
Crocodiles
Monsters
Journey
Sudama
Literary referenceBhagavata Purana
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. 113, cat. no. 7 ii
  • 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. 127, cat. no. 111
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IS.546-1952

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Record createdJanuary 10, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72857/sudama-painting-unknown/
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