Madhava faces a man holding a scale, folio 1 from a Madhavanala-Kamakandala (c. 1720): Art, History and Details

Madhava faces a man holding a scale, folio 1 from a Madhavanala-Kamakandala (c. 1720) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

In the opening page of the series, the artist sets the scene in the city of Pushpavati. The protagonist Madhava holds a stringed instrument (vina), which he plays so bewitchingly that women become entranced. His good looks and musical talent earn him extra riches, which are being presented to him at the lower left. Other Brahmin priests and members of the nobility become jealous.

Object facts

• Title: Madhava faces a man holding a scale, folio 1 from a Madhavanala-Kamakandala
• Date: c. 1720
• Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
• Type: Painting
• Technique: gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Painting: 19.2 x 28.7 cm (7 9/16 x 11 5/16 in.); Page: 21.8 x 30.4 cm (8 9/16 x 11 15/16 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2018.95

A detail from the museum

This is the first page in the series, five of which are in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

Collection credit

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

Further reading listed by the museum

• Griswold, William, Cameron Kitchin, Chase F. Robinson, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, and National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian Institution). Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories, edited by Sonya Rhie Mace, Sarang Sharma, and Vijay Sharma. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2026.

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.