Important Notice

Hyderabad School, Deccan
Circa 1720
Natural pigments on paper heightened with gold
6 x 3.75 in (15.5 x 9.5 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE

This scene is from the dasham skand (tenth canto) of the Bhagwad Purana and depicts the infant Krishna being carried by his father Vasudev on a stormy night. As per the myth, Vasudev follows a prophecy and replaces baby Krishna with an infant girl, an incarnation of Devi or goddess. Torrential rain and flood in the composition are rendered convincingly with a warm colour palette teamed with grey tones creating a dramatic effect.

A bearded Vasudev carries a basket on his head balancing it with both hands while a naked blue-complexioned baby Krishna can be seen resting in it. He wears a saffron dhoti, yellow headgear, vermillion waist cloth and minimal golden-pearl jewellery. Vasudev walks on the river moving leftwards of the composition. A multi-hooded white serpent provides shade or protection to infant Krishna from the rain and storm. The river is laden with blooming lotuses and differently coloured fish. Flood water is depicted as a stream flowing parallel to the river in the foreground. The shaded green uneven land is seen on both the fore and background as are scattered shrubs and trees. The upper part of the composition shows a band of rain clouds depicted in shades of vermillion, white and grey. A red border around the composition has thin silver outlines. An inscription and a number are written in Urdu script on the red border along the top edge.

Hyderabad School, Deccan
Circa 1720
Natural pigments on paper heightened with gold
6 x 3.75 in (15.5 x 9.5 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE

This scene is from the dasham skand (tenth canto) of the Bhagwad Purana and depicts the infant Krishna being carried by his father Vasudev on a stormy night. As per the myth, Vasudev follows a prophecy and replaces baby Krishna with an infant girl, an incarnation of Devi or goddess. Torrential rain and flood in the composition are rendered convincingly with a warm colour palette teamed with grey tones creating a dramatic effect.

A bearded Vasudev carries a basket on his head balancing it with both hands while a naked blue-complexioned baby Krishna can be seen resting in it. He wears a saffron dhoti, yellow headgear, vermillion waist cloth and minimal golden-pearl jewellery. Vasudev walks on the river moving leftwards of the composition. A multi-hooded white serpent provides shade or protection to infant Krishna from the rain and storm. The river is laden with blooming lotuses and differently coloured fish. Flood water is depicted as a stream flowing parallel to the river in the foreground. The shaded green uneven land is seen on both the fore and background as are scattered shrubs and trees. The upper part of the composition shows a band of rain clouds depicted in shades of vermillion, white and grey. A red border around the composition has thin silver outlines. An inscription and a number are written in Urdu script on the red border along the top edge.