Kamsa deploys Akrura and Keshi to Braj, from a Bhagavata Purana (c. 1830): Art, History and Details

Kamsa deploys Akrura and Keshi to Braj, from a Bhagavata Purana (c. 1830) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The king on the low gold throne at center is Kamsa, evil tyrant and uncle of the Hindu god Krishna. He heard that Krishna would one day kill him, so he asked his friend Akrura to bring Krishna to the court for a wrestling match, where he plans to have Krishna murdered. Akrura, in green, stands reverently before him, bowing slightly. Wrestlers sit behind Akrura. The decorative patterns, crisp lines, pale colors, and interest in conveying spatial depth are stylistic characteristics associated with painting of the mid-1800s. After this time, royal patrons began to prefer photography, printed books, and oil paintings, signaling a new era of visual culture in India.

Object facts

• Title: Kamsa deploys Akrura and Keshi to Braj, from a Bhagavata Purana
• Date: c. 1830
• Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Overall: 29.2 x 37.4 cm (11 1/2 x 14 3/4 in.); Painting only: 22.9 x 32.4 cm (9 x 12 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1993.166

Collection credit

Bequest of Harley C. Lee and Elizabeth K. Lee

Further reading listed by the museum

• “1993 Annual Report.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 6 (July 1994): 143–218.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.