Pancham Ragini from a Ragamala set

Object Details

• Court

  Malwa Court

• School/Tradition

  Central Indian school

• Provenance

  ?-1913

  Unidentified individual, Delhi, India, method of acquisition unknown [1]

  1913-1923

  Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947), purchased from Unidentified individual in Delhi, India [2]

  From 1923

  National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, purchased from Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Ananda Coomaraswamy, “Catalogue of the Indian Collections in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Part V, Rajput Painting” [book], (Cambridge: Harvard university Press, 1926), p. 71. The publication indicates that this Ragamala series was previously in the collection of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. Coomaraswamy’s collection “originally contained twenty-three of the series, and these were obtained [by him] in Delhi [in 1913] […].”

  [2] See note 1.

  Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy was an art historian, curator, and collector of South Asian art. Born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Coomaraswamy grew up in England where he received a doctorate in geology. Coomaraswamy was active as a geologist until 1910, when he became interested in the arts of Ceylon and India. He became deeply committed to introducing Western audiences to Indian art. In 1917, he accepted a curatorial post at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he remained until his death.

  [3] See object file for copy of The National Commission of Fine Arts purchase list, dated December 14, 1923, marked as approved on December 15, 1923. Object is one of the “7 Rajput paintings” described.

  The object is part of the museum’s Freer Gallery of Art Collection.

  Research updated July 19, 2024

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)

  Hindu and Buddhist Art (January 28, 1981 to September 24, 1981)

  Indian Art (January 1, 1963 to January 28, 1981)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings, Gallery 7 (January 10, 1945 to October 2, 1947)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings, Gallery 4 (May 5, 1933 to January 9, 1945)

  Untitled Exhibition, Persian Art (March 14, 1931 to May 5, 1933)

  Near Eastern Pottery and Persian Painting (May 2, 1923 to March 14, 1931)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947)

• Origin

  Madhya Pradesh state, Malwa, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1640s, 1630s

• Name

  Coomaraswamy, Ananda K.

• Place

  Madhya Pradesh state, Malwa, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Drums (Membranophones), Music, Ragamala

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings