Picchvai / Artist Unknown, India
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2008/2.288
- Title
- Picchvai
- Artist
- Artist Unknown, India
- Artist Nationality
- Indian
- Medium and Support
- ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on cloth
- Object Creation Date
- 1700-1850
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- India (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- India (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift from the collection of Robert B. Jacobs
- Dimensions
- 177.8 cm x 133.99 cm (70 in. x 52 3/4 in.)
- Century
- 18th-19th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- narrative painting
- Secondary Object Classification
- Textile
- Physical Description
- Painting on cloth in an array of colors that depicts a religious scene. There are assorted animals such as monkeys and cows with red hand prints on them.
- There is a river at the fore of the painting with flowers and lily pads in it. The painting has a colorful floral border.
- Subject Matter
- Picchvai, painted devotional hangings, are often commissioned for a public temple or private or portable shrines. They represent scenes from the life of the Hindu deity Krishna (always depicted as blue) and are commonly used as a backdrop to statues of Krishna himself. In this work, Krishna appears in the form of Srinathji, a manifestation commonly worshipped by the Hindu sect Vallabhalharya Sampradayala. The scene depicted shows Krishna and his half-brother Balarama as they encounter gopis (cow-herding girls) while traveling on Mount Govardhan; in exchange for their protection, Krishna and Balarama demand a toll of milk from the gopis. As Krishna tugs on the garments of a gopi, milk spills from the pot she carries on her head. Below, the monkeys who inhabit the mountain and some cow-herding males enjoy the spoils of this confrontation.
- Gallery Rotation Spring 2011
- Secondary Keywords
- animals and creatures
- associated concepts
- mammals
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by activity
- people by state or condition
- religions
- religions and religious concepts
- religious visual works
- visual works
- visual works by function
- 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
- Record
- 2008/2.288
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-2.288/ri_go2008_47_3.jpg
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Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Picchvai; Artist Unknown, India." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-2.288/ri_go2008_47_3.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 09, 2024.