Kalkin: Tenth Avatar of Vishnu

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Kalkin: Tenth Avatar of Vishnu

18th century

Artist/maker unknown, Nepalese

A blue-skinned lord with a double-pointed sword leads his ornately caparisoned horse through a jungle landscape. Monkeys, goats, and a tiger frolic in the trees above, while the undulating lines below suggest they are walking next to a river. The subject matter of this painting is unknown, but it may depict the horseman Kalkin-the final incarnation (avatar) of the god Vishnu-or illustrate a raga (a mode of classical Indian music). The yellow and red border with a vinelike scroll was a convention also used by painters in the Malwa region of central India during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

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Object Details

Title:

Kalkin: Tenth Avatar of Vishnu
Kalki

Date:

18th century

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Nepalese

Medium:

Opaque watercolor on paper

Dimensions:

Image: 6 3/4 × 5 9/16 inches (17.1 × 14.1 cm) Sheet: 8 3/16 × 6 1/2 inches (20.8 × 16.5 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994

Accession Number:

1994-148-616

Geography:

Made in Nepal, Asia

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