Harvard Art Museums

Radha Talking with Her Sakhi on a Terrace, drawing from a Rasikapriya (Handbook for Poetry Connoisseurs) Series

Date

17th-18th century

Medium

Ink and opaque watercolor on paper

Culture

Indian

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Institution

Harvard Art Museums

The drawing depicts Radha, the consort of the Hindu god Krishna, on the terrace of her palatial abode. Her chin rests on her hand as she listens to her female companion (sakhi), who sits across from her. Beyond the palace walls are trees and birds. Dots of color throughout the drawing act as guides for the colorist to fill in that area with that specific color. The drawing is for a Rasikapriya (Handbook for Poetry Connoisseurs), a sixteen-century poetic treatise on love for aspiring poets and connoisseurs by Keshavdas (b. c. 1555). Through sixteen chapters, the work celebrates aspects of love using the Hindu deity Krishna as the archetypal hero (nayak), and his consort, Radha, as the heroine (nayika). Rajput Style, Kota School

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