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Dhanyashri Ragini, page from a dispersed Ragamala series

Murad (?)

Asian Art

In the fifteenth or sixteenth century, a new genre of painting developed that attempted to capture in imagery the moods of famous passages of classical music. The music, known as ragas or raginis, inspired artists to create little scenarios—happy or sad, fierce or quiet, taking place in the daytime or nighttime, the summer or winter—that were illustrated over and over again.

Like many ragini paintings, Dhayashri shows a woman who misses her beloved. Here, the woman (with green skin) paints a picture of her absent lover, hoping that this will magically conjure him up. Her friend sits with her, apparently berating her for wasting her time. Peacocks often appear in images of lonely women because their cry sounds like that of a woman in pain.
ARTIST Murad (?)
MEDIUM Opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper
DATES ca. 1695
DIMENSIONS sheet: 7 5/16 x 6 in. (18.6 x 15.2 cm) image: 5 7/8 x 4 1/2 in. (15.0 x 11.6 cm)  (show scale)
INSCRIPTIONS Verso, Inventory notation. In Sanskrit, in Devanagari script; Ragini Dhanpashari--20 the work of Murad. In fountain pen ink: Samvat 1771. In pencil: 1714 Library stamp of H. H. Maharaja Bikaner
COLLECTIONS Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 81.192.5
CREDIT LINE Anonymous gift
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Murad (?). Dhanyashri Ragini, page from a dispersed Ragamala series, ca. 1695. Opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper, sheet: 7 5/16 x 6 in. (18.6 x 15.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Anonymous gift, 81.192.5 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 81.192.5_IMLS_SL2.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 81.192.5_IMLS_SL2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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