Page 219 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

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AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A BHAGAVATA PURANA SERIES:
KRISHNA AND BALARAMA DEPART GOKULA WITH AKRURA
INDIA, RAJASTHAN, BUNDI OR KOTAH, LATE 18TH CENTURY
Visible folio 11Ω x 8Ωin. (29.3 x 22cm.)
Image 10¬ x 8in. (27 x 20.3cm.)
$8,000-12,000
PROVENANCE:
Dr. Claus Virch, New York, collected in the early 1970s, by repute.

This illustration from the Bhagavata Purana depicts an episode from Book X,
as Akrura, Krishna and Balarama depart Gokula to participate in a wrestling
match at the capital city of Mathura. The demon King Kamsa had devised
a plot to assassinate Krishna and Balarama under the rouse of an athletic
competition. He dispatched Krishna’s uncle Akrura, to retrieve the boys from
Gokula back to Mathura. In this painting, Akrura and his nephews ride in a
golden chariot as the gopis cry out in grief at Krishna’s departure. In the lower
register, Akrura has a vision of Krishna in his divine form Vishnu.

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