Cleveland Museum of Art
Tiered Court Scene
Chitarman IILinkedCulture matchlcp-2e82f038d918
- Date
- c. 1735
- Medium
- Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
- Culture
- Northern India, Delhi, Mughal court of Muhammad Shah (reigned 1719–48)
- Department
- Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object ID
- 147506
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
Emperor Muhammad Shah rekindled an imperial interest in Hinduism that had not been so strong since the time of Akbar, 150 years before. He commissioned this painting that shows the acts of Rama, hero of a Hindu epic, who slays the demon of the golden city of Lanka at the top of the page. In the middle sections, various Hindu deities enjoy music, kite flying, and boating, while at the bottom the Krishna plays Holi with his lover Radha and other palace women. They shoot red-colored water at one another with plunger guns in celebration of the coming of spring. A leering sea horse monster rears its head below the golden island city of Lanka.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Michael de Havenon
- Provenance
- ?–1973: Michael and Georgia de Havenon, New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 1973–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
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