The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 26, 2024

A Ruler Seated on a Terrace Worshipping at a Shrine of Radha and Krishna

A Ruler Seated on a Terrace Worshipping at a Shrine of Radha and Krishna

c. 1800
gum tempera and gold on paper
25.1 x 20 cm (9 7/8 x 7 7/8 in.)
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.135
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Both figures have rosaries of rudraksha beads usually worn by followers of Shiva, instead of Krishna.

Description

A noble clad in a black woolen shawl and a red turban, both with delicate floral embroidery, kneels before a small shrine with icons of Krishna fluting alongside his lover Radha. An attendant dressed in white holds a fly whisk that denotes the kneeling figure’s royal status. The black sky with light horizon suggests that the sun has recently set. In spite of the individualized facial features, this noble remains unidentified.
  • ?–2018
    Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, partial sale and gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2018–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Raja Deen Dayal: The King of Indian Photographers. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 23, 2023-February 4, 2024).
  • {{cite web|title=A Ruler Seated on a Terrace Worshipping at a Shrine of Radha and Krishna|url=false|author=|year=c. 1800|access-date=26 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.135