Wedding Preparations: folio from a Nala-Damayanti series
date: label: Date
content: 1775-1800
notes: label: Court
content: Guler Court
label: School/Tradition
content: Pahari school
label: Label
content: This drawing is one of a series that illustrates the love story of the heroic Nala and the beautiful Damayanti, a tale that forms part of the renowned Hindu epic, the Mahabharata (Great story of the Bharatas). Using the convention of continuous narrative that was popular at many Rajput courts, the artist has portrayed Damayanti three times as she prepares for her wedding. At the very center a group of attendants bathe Damayanti; at the upper left she is being dressed and adorned by her companions; at the lower right she is led out to the marriage ceremonies.
label: Provenance
content: To 1930
label: Provenance
content: Ajit Ghose, Calcutta to 1930 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1930
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Ajit Ghose, Calcutta in 1930 [2]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] Object file, undated folder sheet note. See also Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)
label: Exhibition History
content: Masterworks of Indian Painting (December 13, 1997 to June 13, 1998)
label: Exhibition History
content: South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)
label: Exhibition History
content: The Arts of South Asia (May 13, 1985 to December 2, 1985)
label: Exhibition History
content: Hindu and Buddhist Art (April 1, 1982 to July 18, 1983)
label: Exhibition History
content: The Brush of the Masters: Drawings from India (October 14, 1978 to May 15, 1979)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, West Corridor (February 25, 1956 to July 11, 1958)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Painting, 1955 (October 24, 1955 to November 28, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings and Sculpture (October 2, 1947 to February 25, 1956)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings, Gallery 7 (January 10, 1945 to October 2, 1947)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings, Gallery 4 (May 5, 1933 to January 9, 1945)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Ajit Ghose (born 1886)
place: label: Origin
content: Guler, Himachal Pradesh state, Punjab Hills, India
topic: label: Topic
content: bathing
label: Topic
content: drum
label: Topic
content: marriage
label: Topic
content: lute
label: Topic
content: cooking
label: Topic
content: Nala Damayanti
label: Topic
content: India
label: Topic
content: South Asian and Himalayan Art
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1930.85
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Opaque watercolor on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (drawing): 22.4 × 33.6 cm (8 13/16 × 13 1/4 in)