Gauri Ragini, folio from a <em>Ragamala</em>
ca. 1650
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection â funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art
Accession Number
S2018.1.41
Tags
About this artwork
A lady dressed in orange walks amidst a grove of four trees. She holds crossed flowering staffs. Raga (Sanskrit, color or passion) is the term for a classical music mode, a set framework for improvisation. Having originated in the first millennium, ragas were systematized and classified during the thirteenth through sixteenth century, they were classified into ragamalas, meaning garlands of musical modes. A common system recognized six raga husbands, each "married" to five ragini wives for a tot...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...