Unknown
Scroll with Scenes of the Life of Krishnacirca 1850-1900

Not on view

Indian manuscript painting of a seated male figure in a pink robe and turban flanked by two smaller attendants, rendered in flat color with white dot ornamentation

Manuscript painting with two horizontal registers on red ground, bordered by gold bands with red dot pattern. Upper register depicts several figures in blue garments and white jewelry gathered around a reclining woman and an infant; a blue-skinned figure and hanging ornaments appear at upper right. Lower register shows multiple figures in animated poses with elaborate striped clothing and large circular earrings, rendered in fine opaque pigments with white linear detailing.

Indian manuscript painting on paper, divided into horizontal registers with red backgrounds and gold borders. A winding blue river flanked by yellow serpentine bands runs vertically through the center. Multiple scenes depict blue-skinned and light-skinned figures in traditional dress alongside animals including a bull and white cow, rendered in flat opaque pigments with fine linear detail.

Painted manuscript or scroll with multiple registers divided by gold borders on a red ground, depicting blue-skinned and ochre-toned figures in Indian court dress engaged in various narrative scenes; a sinuous blue river or serpent form winds vertically through the composition, with a white cow, reclining figure, boat, and groups of standing figures distributed across the panels; flat, linear style with bright red, blue, yellow, and white pigments.

Painted scroll with two registers in red and blue. Upper register shows a blue-skinned central figure wearing a crown and beaded ornaments, surrounded by attendant figures on a red ground. Lower register depicts a large coiled serpent forming a circular mandala pattern on blue ground, with a small figure at the center and human figures at the corners. Fine dotwork detailing throughout.

Manuscript painting with two horizontal registers on red ground framed by gold borders. Multiple blue-skinned figures in pink and gold garments with white dot ornamentation stand in arched niches against dark blue backgrounds in the upper register. The lower register depicts a central architectural canopy with figures beneath it and a leaping figure above, flanked by groups of blue-skinned and lighter figures. Fine detail work throughout.

Illustrated manuscript page with opaque watercolor on paper, divided into two registers. Upper register shows four pairs of blue-skinned figures in pink garments standing beneath arched niches on a red ground with dotted black sky. Lower register depicts attendant figures on the left and an ornate golden chariot with large wheels on the right, with blue-skinned figures seated inside; white dotwork detailing throughout on red and blue ground, with decorative border.

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Scroll with Scenes of the Life of Krishna
Place Made: India, West Bengal, Medinipur
Date Made: circa 1850-1900
Medium: Opaque watercolor and ink on paper; cloth backing
Dimensions: Sheet and image: 155 x 19 5/8 in. (393.7 x 49.84 cm)
Credit Line: From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase
Accession Number: M.71.1.32
Classification: Drawings
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: 1. King Kamsa receives news of Krishna's birth.
2. Right: Krishna announces his imminent birth to Devaki.
Left: Yashoda gives birth to Yogamaya.
3. Left: Vasudeva takes Krishna away to switch him with Yogamaya.
4. Left: Washerman raises Yogamaya (now missing) over his head.
Center: Yogamaya as Kali announces Krishna's birth and Kamsa's ultimate death.
Right: Krishna kills the ogress Putana.
5. Left: Krishna kills the elephant demon.
Center: Krishna kills the heron demon.
Right: Krishna kills the bull demon.
6. Krishna helps a herd of cows ford the river during a flood.
Right: Brahma (?) pays homage to Krishna, the tale of Yashoda and Nanda's cow.
7.Left: Krishna subdues two demons.
Center: Krishna subdues the serpent Kaliya.
Right: Krishna and Balarama with Yashoda at the butter churn.
8. Left: Krishna ferries the gopis (milkmaids) to market and flirts with them.
Right: Krishna steals the gopis' clothes.
9. Krishna-Kali: When Radha's husband comes upon Krishna and Radha dallying in the forest, Krishna turns himself into an image of Kali and Radha pretends to worship him.
10. Nagamandala: a serpent wants to hold Krishna out of devotion and winds himself into a mandala.
11. Krishna multiplies himself to dance with each gopi.
12. Krishna and Radha in a palace surrounded by gopis.
13. Krishna multiplies himself to dance with each gopi.
14. Krishna goes to Mathura. The people of Vrindavan bid him farewell and the gopis throw themselves at the wheels of the cart to stop him.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya; Vidya Dehejia. From Merchants to Emperors: British Artists and India, 1757-1930. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1986.
Dohanian, D.K. The Art of India. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, University Publications, 1961.
Rosenfield, John. The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.

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