Devi with Krishna and Vishnu in a Palace
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1645-1655
notes: label: School/Tradition
content: Mandi school
label: Label
content: This painting is an intriguing amalgamation of Hindu devotional imagery and Mughal style.
label: Label
content: Four Hindu deities are enthroned like rulers on an inner veranda of a white marble palace. From left to right, the deities are young Krishna with his characteristic peacock-tipped crown, the Goddess (Devi) holding shield bow, sword, and arrow; and Vishnu seated together with Lakshmi. The lion and Garuda vehicles of the Goddess and Vishnu are represented in the position reserved for important courtiers in Mughal paintings.Inspired by imperial painting, the delicate contours, small-headed figures, and the profile (rather than frontal) representations of deities makes the figures more akin to rulers than gods.
label: Provenance
content: From 1969 to 2001
label: Provenance
content: Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), Beverly Hills, California, purchased from dealer, Chhote Bharany, New Delhi, India in the United States in November 1969. [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 2001 to 2018
label: Provenance
content: Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, by inheritance from Ralph Benkaim. [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 2018
label: Provenance
content: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glyn Benkaim. [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] According to information from Catherine Glynn Benkaim dated May 23-24, 2016: all of the Benkaim Bharany paintings were bought in the United States. According to Benkaim, the dealer, Chhote Bharany had two children who went to school in California and relatives in New York City. He brought a lot of paintings to the west. He might have kept caches of paintings in the United States.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] See Acquisition Justification Form, object file, Collections Management Office.
label: Collection
content: National Museum of Asian Art Collection
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Chhote Bharany (New Dehli, India)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Ralph and Catherine Benkaim
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Catherine Glynn Benkaim (born 1946)
place: label: Origin
content: Mandi, Himachal Pradesh state, India
topic: label: Topic
content: Vishnu
label: Topic
content: Devi
label: Topic
content: Krishna
label: Topic
content: palace
label: Topic
content: India
label: Topic
content: South Asian and Himalayan Art
label: Topic
content: Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
setName: label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: S2018.1.5
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (sheet): 42.5 × 29.9 cm (16 3/4 × 11 3/4 in)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 40.2 × 27.8 cm (15 13/16 × 10 15/16 in)