Untitled

Ruknuddin

ca. 1690–95 · Opaque watercolor and ink on paper · Asian Art

Untitled — Ruknuddin

The artist Ruknuddin has combined creatively a number of ragamala texts to make this evocative masterpiece. Following artistic precedent and the texts, he shows an ascetic “in penance, adorned, gray [with ashes]” listening to a disciple, who is described as “a young man beauteous in every limb,” playing the rudra vina. Another ragamala text tells us the disciple is “an ascetic, whose mind is drowned in meditation on Shiva . . . crowned by the white moon.”

Artist
Ruknuddin
Date
ca. 1690–95
Medium
Opaque watercolor and ink on paper
Culture
India (Bikaner, Rajasthan)
Department
Asian Art
Credit line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Findlay, 1978

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