- Title
- Jagannatha, Subhadra, and Balabhadra Enshrined
- Date Made
- 1952
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor on cloth
- Dimensions
- 29 1/4 x 40 1/2 in. (74.3 x 102.87 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.2003.215
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
This finely detailed painting from the environs of the renowned Jagannatha temple in Puri, Odisha (formerly Orissa) depicts Krishna as Jagannatha, a special iconic form idiosyncratic to Puri. The dark-skinned Jagannatha is on the viewer’s right, his sister Subhadra is in the center, and his brother Balabhadra (better also known as Balarama) is on the left. The stylized deities have oversize eyes and wear conch shell crowns, floral garlands, and profuse jewelry, including distinctively shaped triple tiger-claw pendants. They are flanked by diminutive figures of priests offering garlands. The holy trinity is shown enshrined in a tripartite shrine, which represents the great temple of Puri itself. Celestial nymphs (apsarasas) carrying garlands fly above the temple. The shrine pillars are embellished with cartouches inset with auspicious women and two male figures making salutatory gestures. At the base of Jagannatha are two small images of four-armed goddesses. At the base of Subhadra are small images of Krishna fluting and his consort Radha. Krishna’s avatars and several divine figures are depicted in vertical registers flanking the central panel. Along the bottom Hindu priests perform rituals with food offerings.
These paintings were initially made as souvenirs for worshippers returning home from pilgrimages to Puri. Krishna’s divine family is similarly sculpted in wood for Puri’s religious festivals and shrines (see AC1995.139.1). See also M.82.107 and M.2006.180.3.
