Page 173 - Christie's Inidian and HImalayan Works of Art, March 2019
P. 173
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN COLLECTION
727
A PICCHVAI OF SHRI NATHJI The festival of Sharat Purnima, depicted here, is a widely celebrated in
NORTH INDIA, RAJASTHAN, NATHDWARA OR JODHPUR Rajasthan to symbolize the onset of autumn. Krishna dances with his
LATE 19TH CENTURY consort Radha, surrounded by gopis in a celebration of rasalila. A series of
Opaque pigments on textile interconnected stories are depicted, anticlockwise, from top: six gopis with
83æ x 105Ω in. (212.8 x 268 cm.)
matkas or pots approach Shri Nathji in the forest with celestial creatures at
$12,000-15,000 the top; Krishna multiplies himself to gather devotees and cowherds; Krishna
celebrates his victory over the naga or snake, Kaliya; and Krishna dances
with gopis to celebrate rasalila. Twenty-six scenes of Shri Nathji’s devotion
surround the rectangular borders of the intricately rendered picchvai. Shri
Nathji stands in mountain-lifting posture to depict his victory over god Indra,
by protecting his people and cattle as Govardhan Nathji.
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