Lovers at dawn, illustrating the musical mode Raga Vibhasa
The musical mode Vibhasa (‘radiance’) is normally performed at dawn. It is conceived pictorially as a noble couple who have passed the night together. Often, as the lady sleeps, her lover may aim his bow to shoot the crowing cock. But here he holds a flower bow and arrow like the love-god Kama, and the peacock is unthreatened. Ragamala painting became a highly popular genre in the Mughal period.
Details
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Title
Lovers at dawn, illustrating the musical mode Raga Vibhasa
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Series
Garland of Ragas
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Associated place
north Deccan (place of creation) -
Date
c. 1675 -
Material and technique
gouache on paper
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Material index
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Technique index
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Object type
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Dimensions
mount 55.6 x 40.5 cm (height x width)
page 26.5 x 22 cm (height x width)
painting 19.7 x 15 cm (height x width) -
No. of items
1
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Credit line
Purchased, 1991.
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Museum location
Museum department
Eastern Art
Accession no.
EA1991.154
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Glossary of terms
Raga
Ragamala
Further reading
Topsfield, Andrew, Indian Paintings from Oxford Collections, Ashmolean Handbooks (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum in association with the Bodleian Library, 1994), no. 20 on p. 46, illus. p. 47
Reference URL
