Gauri Ragini, folio from a Ragamala

Surrounded by four trees and six peacocks, a lady, wearing an orange jama, stands beside a lotus filled pond. She holds two flower staffs.

Historical period(s)
ca. 1625-1630
School
Marwar school
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 23.5 × 19 cm (9 1/4 × 7 1/2 in)
Geography
India, Rajasthan state, Marwar
Credit Line
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S2018.1.49
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Painting

Keywords
India, lotus, peacock, ragamala, Ralph and Catherine Benkaim collection, tree, woman
Provenance

To 1947
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947) [1]

From 1947 to 1974
Rama Coomaraswamy (1929-2006), Greenwich, Connecticut, by gift or inheritance after his father, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy’s death in 1947 [2]

From 1974 to 2001
Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), Beverly Hills, California, purchased from Rama Coomaraswamy, Greenwich, Connecticut [3]

From 2001 to 2018
Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, by inheritance from Ralph Benkaim in 2001

From 2018
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim

Notes:

[1] Rama Coomaraswamy was the son of Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, an important figure in the field of Indian and Sri Lankan art history. Coomaraswamy was largely responsible for providing the conceptual structures through which South Asian art became studied and valued in India and in the west. Because A.K. Coomaraswamy spent the second half of his life in the U.S., it is highly unlikely that any art from his personal collection would have a contested provenance.

[2] According to information from Catherine Glynn Benkaim.

[3] See note 2.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Ralph (1914-2001) and Catherine Benkaim
Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy 1877-1947
Catherine Glynn Benkaim

Description

Surrounded by four trees and six peacocks, a lady, wearing an orange jama, stands beside a lotus filled pond. She holds two flower staffs.

Inscription(s)

Recto: (top in yellow panel), in devnagari : Raga Gau Ragini
Verso: (top left) devanagari numerals 120; Underneath is another notation which cannot be deciphered, perhaps MO 221?
(top right) devanagari ?

Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Terms of Use