"Ragini Virati, Wife of Shri Raga: An Enthroned Lady Caressing a White Water Buffalo," Folio from a dispersed Ragamala (Garland of Melodies)

Title: "Ragini Virati, Wife of Shri Raga: An Enthroned Lady Caressing a White Water Buffalo," Folio from a dispersed Ragamala (Garland of Melodies)

Date: ca. 1690–1700

Culture: India, Punjab Hills, Chamba

Medium: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Dimensions: Page: 8 1/2 × 6 3/16 in. (21.6 × 15.7 cm)
Image (painting): 8 1/2 × 5 5/8 in. (21.6 × 14.3 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Promised Gift of Steven Kossak, The Kronos Collections

Object Number: L.2018.44.14

A seated, enthroned princess resting against a bolster strokes the head of a white water
buffalo. She is attended by a maid waving a fly whisk, or chauri. In the foreground, the tree
which has become entangled in climbing creepers, is a symbolic allusion to the princess’
momentarily separated lover, and their fraught love situation. This scene of gentle melancholy
unfolds in front of an olive green background, beneath a narrow strip of inky sky.
For other paintings from this same fine ragamala series, see cat. nos. 56, 57, and 59.
See also Catherine Glynn, Robert Skelton, and Anna Dallapiccola 2011, nos. 7 9 for three
published illustrations from the same series. For ragamala painting, see cat. nos. 7 and 57.

Inscription: Inscribed on the reverse with three short lines written in devanagari, takri, and takri / sharada script: “Ragini Vairani or Vairati, the Honorable Raga of Bharya”; also inscribed in pencil with the number “48” and in black ink with the Indic number “48”; notated with a rubber stamp in purple ink enclosing the Indic number “2474”

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Divine Pleasures: Painting from India's Rajput Courts—The Kronos Collections," June 13–September 11, 2016.

Visiting Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion?

Open Access

API

Artwork Details

Related Artworks

Asian Art at The Met

Visiting Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion?

Crop your artwork:

Scan your QR code:

"Ragini Virati, Wife of Shri Raga: An Enthroned Lady Caressing a White Water Buffalo," Folio from a dispersed Ragamala (Garland of Melodies)

Open Access

API

Artwork Details

Learn more about this artwork

Related Artworks

The Demon Hiranyaksha Departs the Demon Palace: Folio from a Bhagavata Purana Series

Rama Releases the Demon Spies Shuka and Sarana: Folio from the Siege of Lanka series

The Disrobing of Draupadi

"Madhava Ragaputra, Son of Bhairava Raga: A Young Prince Seated on a Throne, Gazing in a Mirror," Folio from a dispersed Ragamala (Garland of Melodies)

Footed Bowl and Plate

Asian Art at The Met