Fragment from a Markendeya Purana scroll: Vishnu on the pipal leaf / Artist Unknown, India, Northern Andhra Pradesh
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1980/2.306
- Title
- Fragment from a Markendeya Purana scroll: Vishnu on the pipal leaf
- Artist Nationality
- Indian
- Medium and Support
- ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on cloth
- Object Creation Date
- late 18th century
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- India (nation)
- Andhra Pradesh (state)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- India (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Andhra Pradesh (state)
- Dimensions
- 113.35 cm x 112.4 cm x 3.18 cm (44 5/8 in. x 44 1/4 in. x 1 1/4 in.)
- Century
- 18th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- narrative painting
- Physical Description
- The blue four-armed Vishnu is shown lying on a gigantic pipal leaf with his left leg crossed over his right leg; as his female consort gently strokes his leg, he awakens from a long sleep. Another woman fans him. From his navel sprouts a lotus, bearing the four-headed creator god, Brahma, and rishis or sages appear in the upper branches of the pipal tree. Vishnu has four arms carrying a discus and a conch in his back hands and the lower left arm is extended pointing towards the women at his feet while the lower right am is cross towards his stomach.
- The iconography is further compounded by the image in the lower register of a tortoise at the bottom of the ocean of milk, bearing a mountain on his back. The tortoise is in fact Kurma, another manifestation of Vishnu, supporting the cosmic axis. Elephants have gathered to pay homage to him, while in a small inset at right, a worshipper pays homage to Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. A large red figure faces the scene to the right accompanied by small blue figures to his sides as if behind him. Two sages, one horse-headed, are to the upper right.
- Subject Matter
- This is Bhavana[rsi] who is the progenitor of the weaver cast that commissioned these long scrolls, about 28 feet long with various scenes. The Ahmedabad one has 26, while the example in the Mittal collection has 22. The Ahmedabad one begins with the trinity and then Ganesa, while the earlier one begins with Ganesa.
- No big rulers associated with these commissions. The artists were apparently the same as the ones that did work for the bigger patrons and quite adept. Northern Andhra is the area, so Varangal is largest city, but the painters are from smaller towns nearby.
- Jagdish Mittal has some, Salar Jung, and Seattle pieces are cut up as are the ones in this collection. Perhaps today ome of the fragments, and perhaps whole scrolls, have lost the connection with the Markendeya iconography and have modern caste connections to the tales.
- The University of Michigan scroll fragments are closer to the Ahmedabad example with figures more stick like and not rounded like the earlier example. A date of the late 18th century then is possible. In fact the style seems virtually identical in every way.
- Secondary Keywords
- animals
- associated concepts
- hindu
- mammals
- named gods and goddesses
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by state or condition
- religion
- religions
- religions and religious concepts
- subject matter
- the natural world
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 941 x 931
- File Size
- 136 KB
- Record
- 1980/2.306
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1980-sl-2.306/1980_2.306.jpg
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- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1980-SL-2.306:1980_2.306.JPG
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- Full citation
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"Fragment from a Markendeya Purana scroll: Vishnu on the pipal leaf; ; Artist Unknown, India, Northern Andhra Pradesh." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1980-sl-2.306/1980_2.306.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 15, 2024.