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Dhanashri Ragini, Page from a Ragamala Series

Asian Art

In the fifteenth or sixteenth century, a new genre of painting developed that attempted to capture the moods of famous passages of classical music in pictorial vignettes. This painting depicts one of the most common scenarios for ragini paintings: a lonely woman passing time while her beloved is away. Dhanashri is not a well-known ragini, but it seems likely that it was a quiet, melancholy piece, much like this image. The woman’s solitude is here underscored by the presence of a pair of rabbits, animals that are famous for their fertility.
CULTURE Indian
MEDIUM Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
DATES ca. 1790 or earlier
DIMENSIONS sheet: 10 x 6 15/16 in. (25.4 x 17.6 cm) image: 8 x 5 1/8 in. (20.3 x 13.0 cm)  (show scale)
INSCRIPTIONS Inscription: (on reverse): "ragani dhanasari malakese di" Translation: Dhanasri ragini of Malkos
COLLECTIONS Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 80.277.9
CREDIT LINE Anonymous gift
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Indian. Dhanashri Ragini, Page from a Ragamala Series, ca. 1790 or earlier. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, sheet: 10 x 6 15/16 in. (25.4 x 17.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Anonymous gift, 80.277.9 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 80.277.9_IMLS_PS4.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 80.277.9_IMLS_PS4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2010
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