Krishna, The Butter Thief

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Krishna, The Butter Thief

India, Tamil Nadu, 16th century
Sculpture
Copper alloy
4 1/2 x 2 3/4 x 4 in. (11.43 x 6.98 x 10.16 cm)
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.72.1.16)
South and Southeast Asian Art
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

Kṛiṣhṇa (The Dark One) is the eighth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, the Lord of Preservation. He was born in pastoral Vrindavan near Mathura, Uttar Pradesh....
Kṛiṣhṇa (The Dark One) is the eighth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, the Lord of Preservation. He was born in pastoral Vrindavan near Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. As a child (Balakrishna), he was very rambunctious. His antics and adventures are called Krishna Lila (The Sport of Krishna). One of his favorite childhood pranks was stealing and eating butter from his mother’s and neighbors’ churns. Accordingly, he is known as the Butter Thief (Navanitachora or Makhan Chor) and is represented in this iconographic form as a child holding a ball of butter. See also M.79.152.180 and M.84.34. Krishna is depicted here as a crawling naked child richly adorned with ornaments. He wears a tall flaring conical hairstyle indigenous to Tamil Nadu, earrings, armlets, bracelets, anklets, a chest ornament (channavira), and a belt with pendant bells.
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Bibliography

  • Rosenfield, John.  The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection.  Boston:  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya.  The Sacred and Secular in Indian Art.  Santa Barbara, CA:  University of California, 1974.
  • Rosenfield, John.  The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection.  Boston:  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya.  The Sacred and Secular in Indian Art.  Santa Barbara, CA:  University of California, 1974.
  • Trabold, J. The Art of India, An Historical Profile.  Northridge, CA:  California State University Press, 1975.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture, vol.2. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1988.
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