Skip Navigation

Page from a Naishadha-carita of Shri Harsha Series

Asian Art

The Naishadhacharita is an epic poem recounting the romance between the hero, Nala, and his wife, Damayanti. This page may depict episodes from the story after Nala has lost his kingdom and must serve as charioteer to King Rituparna. The king is shown seated on a horsedrawn cart with two attendants (both proportionally smaller than the king to show his importance) and wearing a crown (here a symbol of ancient royalty, as contemporary kings would have worn turbans). The purplecloaked figure of Nala appears three times, narrating consecutive episodes. This depiction of the passage of time on a single page is typical in Indian painting, but the use of a deep, open landscape setting is quite unusual.
CULTURE Indian
MEDIUM Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
  • Place Made: Punjab Hills, India
  • DATES ca. 1800-1825
    DIMENSIONS sheet: 11 5/8 x 15 5/8 in. (29.5 x 39.7 cm) image: 9 5/8 x 14 in. (24.4 x 35.6 cm)  (show scale)
    INSCRIPTIONS Verso, at top center, in black ink, in Devanagari script: 31.
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 81.192.9
    CREDIT LINE Anonymous gift
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Indian. Page from a Naishadha-carita of Shri Harsha Series, ca. 1800-1825. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, sheet: 11 5/8 x 15 5/8 in. (29.5 x 39.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Anonymous gift, 81.192.9 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 81.192.9_PS2.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 81.192.9_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2008
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions
    This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.