Cleveland Museum of Art

Box decorated with Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, and Ganesha

Date

c. 1800

Medium

gold with enamel

Culture

Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Jaipur

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This box is covered in a variety of birds, animals, and plants. The central motifs on the lids include images of four Hindu gods: Shiva, Krishna, Vishnu, and Ganesha. The blue figures are Vishnu and Krishna, the latter of which is an incarnation of the former who is shown playing a flute. The elephant-headed Ganesha is red and accompanied by his mount, the bandicoot rat Dinka. The four-armed Shiva is paired with two animals, including a tiger and his sacred bull mount Nandi. Small enamel boxes could be used to house many different substances, from cosmetics to spices to stimulants, including opium and paan , a digestive typically given at formal gatherings as a sign of the host’s hospitality. Shiva’s mount is the bull; the tiger is the mount of his wife.

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