Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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Tribal lady charming snakes, illustrating the musical mode Asavari Raginifront

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

  • Tribal lady charming snakes, illustrating the musical mode Asavari Ragini (back)
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Tribal lady charming snakes, illustrating the musical mode Asavari Ragini

  • Description

    Ragamala (‘Garland of Ragas’) was one of the most popular genres of court painting in the Mughal period. The spirit or essence of each raga or musical mode was evoked in poetic verses and depicted in paintings, according to long established conventions. The mode Asavari, usually performed in the early morning hours, is depicted as a dark-skinned tribal beauty, who lives alone in remote mountain forests where her presence charms the snakes down from the trees. This painting is from a dispersed ragamala series painted in an unusual, expressive style which combines Rajasthani and Deccani features. Seven of the 21 surviving pages from this series are in the Ashmolean [EA1992.63, EA1991.154, EA1999.22, EA2001.32, EA2001.33, EA2012.230].

  • Details

    show all
    Series
    Garland of Ragas
    Associated place
    Asia › India › Deccan › north Deccan (place of creation)
    Date
    c. 1675
    Material and technique
    gouache with gold on paper
    Dimensions
    page 25.9 x 22.1 cm (height x width)
    painting 18.4 x 15.1 cm (height x width)
    Material index
    processed material › paper,
    processed material › metal › gold
    Technique index
    painted,
    covered › coated › painted,
    marked › painted,
    decorated › painted
    Object type index
    communications equipment › manuscript,
    visual representation › painting
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Presented by the Simon Digby Memorial Charity, 2012.
    Accession no.
    EA2012.229

Glossary (2)

Ragamala, Ragini

  • Ragamala

    Raga (feminine ragini) are musical modes, often represented by compositions of ladies, lovers, warriors, animals or gods, in series of Ragamala ('Garland of Ragas') paintings, a very popular artistic genre in north India and the Deccan c. 1500 - 1800.

  • Ragini

    Raga (feminine ragini) are musical modes, often represented by compositions of ladies, lovers, warriors, animals or gods, in series of Ragamala ('Garland of Ragas') paintings, a very popular artistic genre in north India and the Deccan c. 1500 - 1800.

Past Exhibition

see (1)

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

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