Picchvai / Artist Unknown, India
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2008/2.289
- 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
- 198.76 cm x 148.59 cm (78 1/4 in. x 58 1/2 in.)
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- ink painting
- Secondary Object Classification
- Painting
- Secondary Object Type
- narrative painting
- Physical Description
- The piece portrays a central god, with many milkmaids surrounding him. There are louts flowers present, as well as hills and buildings at the top of the painting. There are also various incarnations of gods, which are the blue-skinned figures.
- Subject Matter
- Shri Nathi, an incarnation of Krishna particularly worshipped by cow-herding communities, is at center. Vallahachari brahmins and devotees perform puja. In other areas Krishna teases the gopis and herds cows.
- (Christies, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, Friday 21 September 200--see object file)
- 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 for the display of statues of this god. Here, the scene depicted shows Krishna and his friends negotiating with gopis (cow-herding girls) while traveling on Mount Govardhan; in exchange for protection, they demand a toll of curds and milk from the gopis who wish to pass. Some scholars who have studied Picchvai have drawn parallels between the repetitive patterning of the groups of figures in this visual composition and the metric system of the short poems of the period.
- Secondary Keywords
- animals and creatures
- descriptors
- design elements
- herdsmen
- hindu
- mammals
- motifs
- named gods and goddesses
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people and occupations
- people by state or condition
- plant-derived motifs
- religion
- subject matter
- vishnu
- workers
- 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
- 2008/2.289
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-2.289/ri_go2008_47_2.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
Cite this Item
View the Help Guide for more information.
- 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-2.289/ri_go2008_47_2.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 29, 2024.