Pichvai of Shri Nathji (1825–50): Art, History and Details

Pichvai of Shri Nathji (1825–50) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Painted-cloth devotional wall hangings (pichvai) form the backdrop to the worship of Krishna as Shri Nathji. As a result of long-term exposure, these textiles are usually faded and worn. The icon of Krishna as Shri Nathji is the central figure. On either side of him, milkmaids with arms entwined join him in a state of ecstasy. Experiencing the bliss of divine play (lila) with Krishna is the main religious goal for followers of the Pushti Marg sect of Hinduism to which this work belongs. Episodes from the life of Krishna and a border of adoring cows frame the central scene.

Object facts

• Title: Pichvai of Shri Nathji
• Date: 1825–50
• Culture: Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Nathdwara
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera, silver, and gold on cotton
• Dimensions: Overall: 257 x 169.5 cm (101 3/16 x 66 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1937.454

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman. "The Decorative and the Super-Real: Two Rajasthani Miniatures." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 44, no. 8 (October 1957): 180-183.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
• Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986.

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.