Nata Ragini (A Horseman Battles Foot Soldiers)

Currently not on view

Nata Ragini (A Horseman Battles Foot Soldiers)

c. 1650-1660

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

Nata raga is most often shown as a furious battle in which a soldier on horseback lops off the head of a foot soldier. Here a mounted figure (who, oddly, wears a short blouse and may be meant as a woman) is set against a bright red ground with a white, arched horizon separating it from the pure black sky. A foot soldier cowers from the upraised sword. Beneath the horse's hoofs lies a recently slain corpse; parts of its body and the blood gushing from its severed neck break into the yellow border, a space originally reserved for text.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Nata Ragini (A Horseman Battles Foot Soldiers)
Page from a dispersed ragamala series (garland of musical modes)

Date:

c. 1650-1660

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

Medium:

Opaque watercolor with gold on paper

Dimensions:

Image: 7 7/16 × 5 3/4 inches (18.9 × 14.6 cm) Sheet: 8 1/8 × 6 7/16 inches (20.6 × 16.4 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Gift of Stella Kramrisch, 1987

Accession Number:

1987-52-3

Geography:

Made in Madhya Pradesh, Malwa Region, India, Asia

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Currently not on view