Advanced Search 
Vilavala Ragini
Indian, Rajasthani
About 1760
Object Place: Bundi or Kota, Rajasthan, Northern India
Medium/Technique
Opaque watercolor, gold and silver on paper
Dimensions
Overall: 34.3 x 24 cm (13 1/2 x 9 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of John Goelet
Accession Number67.798
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings
This painting belongs to a set of ragamalas (paintings of ragas or Indian musical modes) that were produced in the Rajput kingdom of Bundi or Kota in the 18th century. Because the MFA collection holds fifteen paintings from the series, it is widely known as the “Boston Ragamala." The fifteen paintings in the MFA are 66.164, 67.793–804 and 2019.717-718.
InscriptionsObverse: at top, in Devanagari: "Vilavala Ragini, of Maru, to be played in the first quarter of the day." Number 6. On a separate sheet, attached to the back, a long inscription in Devanagari - TO BE READ.
ProvenanceBy 1965, Indian dealer, Madras or Calcutta, India; 1965, purchased by John Goelet, New York, NY; 1967, gift of Goelet to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 13, 1967)