Krishna Under a Canopy

c. 1680

Krishna Under a Canopy, c. 1680. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Raghogarh. Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 26.7 x 17.8 cm (10 1/2 x 7 in.); miniature: 22.9 x 14 cm (9 x 5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.184 This tranquil, languid scene on a white marble, carpeted terrace depicts the god Krishna in the place of an earthly prince. A female attendant at the left fans him, while he and another lady each hold a rose. The open doorway in the background with the rolled-up curtain above suggests the intimacy of an imminent encounter inside. Krishna holds a scepter, or mace, which is one of the weapons of the god Vishnu, of whom he is an incarnation.