Krishna and Consort on a Palace Balcony with Musicians: Vukharo Ragaputra of Bhairav, from the “Boston Ragamala” (1770–75): Art, History and Details

Krishna and Consort on a Palace Balcony with Musicians: Vukharo Ragaputra of Bhairav, from the “Boston Ragamala” (1770–75) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

The mood of this scene is joyous, as the blue-skinned god Krishna sits with his beloved in a high covered balcony. Below, exuberant musicians blow horns and clap time. One man in front plays the cymbals next to the open-mouthed singer on a lute-like instrument. A guard sits relaxed and unworried, counting the beads of his rosary.

Object facts

• Title: Krishna and Consort on a Palace Balcony with Musicians: Vukharo Ragaputra of Bhairav, from the “Boston Ragamala”
• Date: 1770–75
• Culture: Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Kota
• Type: Painting
• Technique: gum tempera, ink, silver, and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Page: 32.7 x 23.8 cm (12 7/8 x 9 3/8 in.); Miniature: 18.8 x 12.7 cm (7 3/8 x 5 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2018.179

A detail from the museum

This musical mode is performed at early morning, suggested by the sunrise at the horizon.

Collection credit

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

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.