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Description

BABY KRISHNA STEALING BUTTER (GHEE) Thanjavur (Tanjore), Tamil Nadu, South India, early 19th century Opaque pigments, gold leaf and sukka (limestone paste) on coarse cotton canvas laid on wood, the vertical-format composition depicting the beloved scene of Lord Krishna as a child stealing ghee (clarified butter) from his foster mother Yashoda, the child portrayed with a faint and contented smile on his face, holding the large butter jar under his arm and next to his hip, wearing an ornate and heavily encrusted headdress with the typical peacock's feather at the top, his accessories indicative of his importance and divine nature, including several thick gold necklaces encrusted with untested rubies, and green and red glass beads; a golden waistband; thick bejewelled armbands; wristbands; anklets; and a ceremonial garland of fresh pink flowers resting on his shoulders and extending until the right foot; Baby Krishna flanked by his mother by birth, Devaki, to the right and his foster mother Yashoda to the left, both mothers heavily bejewelled and making offerings to the child, Yashoda a piece of butter and a green parakeet, and Devaki a lotus flower, the scene set underneath a lobed golden arch with green curtains, at the bottom a frieze with two devotees prepping ghee balls prasadas, behind them a white cow and a shrine, mounted, glazed and framed, 44.5cm x 39.5cm including the frame. The image of Lord Krishna as the young thief of ghee is perhaps one of the dearest and most popular subjects in Tanjore's painting. Usually commissioned by members of the South Indian aristocracy, the devotional scope of these paintings is still served to this day. For further reference on devotional icons from Tanjore, please see B. Rossi, From the Ocean of Painting, India's Popular Paintings, 1589 to the Present, 1998, pp. 82 - 89; and Anna L. Dallapiccola, Thanjavur's Gilded Gods: South Indian Paintings in the Kuldip Singh Collection, 2018.

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BABY KRISHNA STEALING BUTTER (GHEE) Thanjavur (Tanjore), Tamil Nadu, South India, early 19th century Opaque pigments, gold leaf and sukka (limestone paste) on coarse cotton canvas laid on wood, the vertical-format composition depicting the beloved scene of Lord Krishna as a child stealing ghee (clarified butter) from his foster mother Yashoda, the child portrayed with a faint and contented smile on his face, holding the large butter jar under his arm and next to his hip, wearing an ornate and heavily encrusted headdress with the typical peacock's feather at the top, his accessories indicative of his importance and divine nature, including several thick gold necklaces encrusted with untested rubies, and green and red glass beads; a golden waistband; thick bejewelled armbands; wristbands; anklets; and a ceremonial garland of fresh pink flowers resting on his shoulders and extending until the right foot; Baby Krishna flanked by his mother by birth, Devaki, to the right and his foster mother Yashoda to the left, both mothers heavily bejewelled and making offerings to the child, Yashoda a piece of butter and a green parakeet, and Devaki a lotus flower, the scene set underneath a lobed golden arch with green curtains, at the bottom a frieze with two devotees prepping ghee balls prasadas, behind them a white cow and a shrine, mounted, glazed and framed, 44.5cm x 39.5cm including the frame. The image of Lord Krishna as the young thief of ghee is perhaps one of the dearest and most popular subjects in Tanjore's painting. Usually commissioned by members of the South Indian aristocracy, the devotional scope of these paintings is still served to this day. For further reference on devotional icons from Tanjore, please see B. Rossi, From the Ocean of Painting, India's Popular Paintings, 1589 to the Present, 1998, pp. 82 - 89; and Anna L. Dallapiccola, Thanjavur's Gilded Gods: South Indian Paintings in the Kuldip Singh Collection, 2018.

Estimate 400 - 600 GBP
Starting price 280 GBP

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For sale on Thursday 20 Jun : 11:00 (BST)
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