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The Hero Who Loves Another Man's Wife


Upapati Nayaka
Attributed to: Kripal (active about 1660–1690)
Indian, Pahari
1660–70
Object Place: Basohli or Nurpur, Punjab Hills, Northern India

Medium/Technique Opaque watercolor, silver, gold, and beetle wing on paper
Dimensions Overall: 23.5 x 32.8cm (9 1/4 x 12 15/16in.)
Other (Without borders): 17.8 x 26.8cm (7 x 10 9/16in.)
Credit Line Ross-Coomaraswamy Collection
Accession Number17.2781
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings

InscriptionsObverse: at top, in Devanagari, short inscription (to be read) and on margin "102".

Reverse: at top, in Devanagari, two lines: "Fear of detection does not permit the eager lovers' gaze to meet. Scared of the jingling sound of the armlets, they desist from embracing. They kiss each other's lips without the contact of their teeth. Their union is hushed, too. Such a love is indeed empty of joy." 102
ProvenanceBy 1916, purchased in India by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (b. 1887 - d. 1947); 1917, sold by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy to Denman Waldo Ross (b. 1853 - d. 1935), Cambridge, MA; 1917, given by Denman Waldo Ross to the MFA. (Accession date: April 5, 1917)