Ragini Ramkali, from a Garland of Musical Modes (Ragamala) manuscript Artist: Unknown

18th century

Asian Art

Rendering a woman furious at the late arrival of her lover, who bows down and seeks forgiveness, this illustration of Ragini Ramkali, the fifth consort of Raga Malkauns, followed that of Ragini Malavi. The details of contemporaneous material culture gleaned from this image are striking: the painted blue-and-white porcelain in the niches of the marble pavilion, the latticed railing, the orange canopy, and the sheer, wine-red curtains embroidered with gold thread all document the environment of the inner courts in the late Mughal period. Even a partial view of the private chamber through the scalloped arches reveals the motif of vases with flowers found in several Mughal buildings, such as the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, the father of the Mughal empress Nur Jahan, completed in 1628 in the northern Indian city of Agra.

Medium

Opaque watercolor on paper

Dimensions

Approx.: 17 1/2 × 11 3/4 in. (44.5 × 29.8 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Lauder Greenway, B.A. 1925, Ph.D. 1930

Accession Number

1939.543

Geography
Culture
Period

Mughal dynasty (1526–1857)

Classification
Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Provenance

Said to have been given by the Maharaja of Kishangarh to a British army officer for services in 1857; with Imre Schwaiger (1868-1940), New Delhi, India, by 1938; sold in India to Lauder Greenway (1904–1981), New York, 1938; given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 1939
Object copyright
Additional information

Object/Work type

figures (representations), religious art

Inscriptions

Recto: راکنی رام کلی\r\nVerso: راکنی رام کلی

Technical metadata and APIs

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