Temple cloth celebrating Krishna (Picchavai) (border section)

Late 18th century

Not on view

This painted textile represents the lower border of a large scale and high quality picchavai, a devotional temple hanging. Dedicated to the veneration of Lord Krishna as Shrinathji, believed to be a self-manifested form of Vishnu that appeared as a black stone icon of his avatar as Krishna. Traditionally much venerated by rural worshippers, and especially those associated with cowherds, a genre of painted cloth emerged, employed as backdrops to the black stone icon, and as substitutes for it when worshipped away from Nathdwara. This panel has a series of vignettes depicting a range of devotional scenes associated with Krishna’s youthful adventures, as recounted in the Bhagavad Purana.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Temple cloth celebrating Krishna (Picchavai) (border section)
Date: Late 18th century
Culture: India, Rajasthan
Medium: Painted pigments (kalamkari) and glued gold on cotton
Dimensions: 24 in. × 10 ft. 7 3/16 in. (61 × 323 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Painted
Credit Line: Gift of Yukikazu and Kimiko Iwasa, in memory of Seizaburo and Shizuko Iwasa, 2019
Object Number: 2019.452.1
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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