A girl worshipping the rising sun (Surya puja)

c. 1810

attributed to Chokha

(Indian, active c. 1799–1824)

Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Devgarh

Page: 23.8 x 17.1 cm (9 3/8 x 6 3/4 in.); Painting: 20.3 x 13.3 cm (8 x 5 1/4 in.)

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.151

Location: 242B Indian Painting

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Did You Know?

One of the two ducks in the lotus pond has a fish in its bill.

Description

Clad in only her undergarment, an adolescent girl performs a ritual of morning prayer. She pours a stream of water that splashes down the steps of the platform on which she stands, her garland and orange sari on the ground behind her. Devotional practice in India can occur in nature, in the open air, without the presence of a temple, icon, or a priest.

Animals stir in the hills, and a goose has caught a fish. The artist appears to have connected the peace and bounty of the land with the pious act of honoring the sun with water.