Krishna and the gopis bathing in the river Yamuna, illustration from a Harivamsa series, attributable to Purkhu, Kangra, circa 1800-15

gouache heightened with gold on paper, principal characters identified in white devanagari script on the surface of the painting, thin red border, framed

Royal Collection, Mandi
Collection of Villiers David (d.1985), London
Acquired in 1966

Tantra, Hayward Gallery, London, 1971

London 1971, p.35, no.132 (reprinted 1972, p.41)
Rawson 1973, pl.47
Dallapiccola et al. 1982, p.56, no.55

In good overall condition, colours vivid and gold bright, a few worm holes in lower border, as viewed.
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This large and captivating painting of Krishna cavorting with the gopis in the Yamuna river is an illustration from the Harivamsa and can be associated with a dispersed series attributed by Goswamy and Fischer to Purkhu of Kangra (see Goswamy and Fischer 1992, pp.378-381, nos.164-165; Goswamy and Fischer in Beach, Fischer and Goswamy 2011, vol.II, p.720, no.6). The Harivamsa, or genealogy of Hari, is a collection of stories mostly concerning the life of Krishna and is regarded as related to, and perhaps an appended part of, the Mahabharata.

Purkhu of Kangra (active circa 1780-1820) was the leading artist at the court of Raja Sansar Chand (r.1775-1823). He painted a number of large court scenes of the Kangra rulers and princes as well as several large-scale series illustrating various Hindu texts such as the Shiva Purana, the Rasikapriya, the Gita Govinda and the Harivamsa.  Purkhu seems happiest when working in a large format and the series of manuscript illustrations attributed to him are among the largest in scale of the Pahari miniatures. For thorough discussions of his career and illustrations of his works see Goswamy and Fischer 1992, pp.368-387; Goswamy and Fischer in Beach, Fischer and Goswamy 2011, vol.II, pp.719-732.

Fourteen illustrations from a closely related Harivamsa series of almost identical size, formerly in a German private collection, were sold in our New York rooms, 1 April 2005, lot 117-119; 20 September 2005, lot 110-112; 29 March 2006, lot 153-156; 19 September 2006, lots 11-13 and 15.