Cleveland Museum of Art

Augury of the crow (Vasakasajja Nayika)

Date

c. 1800

Medium

Gum tempera and gold on paper

Culture

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The heroine in the doorway is waiting for her husband to return, but he is delayed, and ominous monsoon clouds gather in the distance. The pomegranate tree in her garden has ripe fruits replete with seeds and bright red juices, suggestive of her fertility, but a crow is perched there. The sound of a crow’s voice is an unlucky omen, and this further compounds her anxiety. Depictions of tense, relatable situations were made to elicit empathy in the viewer and emotions that heightened the pleasure of viewing and savoring paintings. Nayika is the term for a heroine figure in Indian art, literature, and drama.

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