Untitled

Tirupati School, South India

late 18th century · Opaque watercolor and hand-colored silver on paper · Asian Art

This diminutive painting celebrates Krishna as king of the cowherds—a form of the divinity unique to the Rajagopalaswamy temple in Mannargudi in Tamil Nadu. It is a work of tender devotion, immediate in its celebration of Krishna as the pastoral protector of cows. Painted in a seemingly folkish style that belies its sophistication, this powerful image was likely painted in Tirupati, the great Vaishnava temple and pilgrimage center in southern Andhra Pradesh as part of a series celebrating the childhood and youth of Krishna. Wearing the distinctive turban of a cowherd and leaning nonchalantly on a crutch, he grasps a punch-dagger in his left hand; in his right he holds a lotus and a herdsman’s whip. This stylized serpentine device with a snake terminal here assumes the status of a royal scepter. A bow is slung over his left shoulder; a quiver is visible behind the other. Devotees who stay overnight in prayer at his temple believe they earn merit equivalent to gifting 1000 cows!

Artist

Tirupati School, South India

Date

late 18th century

Medium

Opaque watercolor and hand-colored silver on paper

Culture

South India, Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2022