The Gopis celebrating Krishna

India, Western Deccan

Not on view

This panel represents a section of the border of a large scale and richly gilded picchavai, a temple hanging devoted to the veneration of Lord Krishna as Shrinathji. This form of Vishnu appeared as a black stone icon at Mathura. In 1672 it was moved, seemingly on divine instruction, to escape Muslim desecration. After the stone arrived at Nathdwara, in Rajasthan, it refused to move any further. Deemed the god’s choice, a temple was built there and a cult sprang up around it. A genre of painted cloth emerged, serving as backdrops to the black stone icon. Such textiles also came to function as substitute objects of veneration for devotees who could not worship at Nathdwara. The most charming of these hangings were produced with a combination of kalamkari resist and mordant-dyed painting and the lavish application of gold.

The Gopis celebrating Krishna, Border panel from a picchavai hanging; cotton with painted and stamped mordant and resist dyed, and gold, India, Western Deccan

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The Gopis celebrating Krishna, Border panel from a picchavai hanging; cotton with painted and stamped mordant and resist dyed, and gold, India, Western Deccan
The Gopis celebrating Krishna, Border panel from a picchavai hanging; cotton with painted and stamped mordant and resist dyed, and gold, India, Western Deccan
The Gopis celebrating Krishna, Border panel from a picchavai hanging; cotton with painted and stamped mordant and resist dyed, and gold, India, Western Deccan
The Gopis celebrating Krishna, Border panel from a picchavai hanging; cotton with painted and stamped mordant and resist dyed, and gold, India, Western Deccan
The Gopis celebrating Krishna, Border panel from a picchavai hanging; cotton with painted and stamped mordant and resist dyed, and gold, India, Western Deccan
The Gopis celebrating Krishna, Border panel from a picchavai hanging; cotton with painted and stamped mordant and resist dyed, and gold, India, Western Deccan

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