The Sleeping Shatrajit Murdered by Satadhanva, from a Bhagavata Purana

Object Details

• School/Tradition

  Pre-Mughal school

• Label

  The Bhagavata Purana (Song of the Lord), possibly first compiled in Sanskrit about 1200 and later translated into regional vernaculars, was the product of a long oral tradition. It is an immense work, comprising 18,000 verses in 11 books. Book ten remains the most popular of these, for it deals with the life of Krishna, the young cowherd and prince who was the god Vishnu incarnate.

  This Bhagavata Purana is one of the most important pre-Mughal Hindu manuscripts. The artist combined several events from one narrative to convey successive events within a single composition. On the first floor of a palace surrounded by water, Satadhanva gains possession of the fabulous Syamantaka jewel by decapitating Shatrajit. Shatrajit's daughter preserves his corpse in a trough of oil (visible above the decapitation scene) and hastens to inform her betrothed Krishna of the murder. The women of the family wail in sorrow in the upper storey of the palace.

• Provenance

  At least late 1965-1966

  Heeramaneck Galleries (active 1928-1964), New York, NY, method of acquisition unknown [1]

  From 1966

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Heeramaneck Galleries [2]

  Notes:

  [1] See letter from Richard Ettinghausen to Nasli Heeramaneck, dated December 21, 1965, copy in object file. In Richard Ettinghausen’s letter, he asks Nasli Heeramaneck to send the seven paintings on offer, including F1966.31 and F1966.32, to the Freer Gallery of Art in the new year so they can be examined. F1966.31 is described as, “Murder scene with four women upstairs in house, Kulahda style.” 1966.32 is described as, “Shiva with Parvati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya, Kangra [school].”

  See also incoming receipt, dated January 11, 1966, copy in object file. The object was transferred from Heeramaneck Galleries to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration on January 11, 1966. Object is described as, “Group of 7 paintings.”

  Heeramaneck Galleries in New York, NY owned and operated by Nasli M. (1902-1971) and Alice N. Heeramaneck (née Arvine) (1910-1993). The Heeramaneck’s were dealers and collectors of Pre-Columbian and Asian art. Nasli Heeramaneck began his career as a dealer in Paris during the 1920s and relocated to New York, NY in 1927. In 1939, Nasli married Alice Arvine, an American portrait painter from New Haven, CT. Nasli founded Heeramaneck Galleries in New York, NY by 1928. He began to retire in 1964 and liquidated some of the gallery’s stock at auction at Parke-Barnet, New York in 1964 and 1965. Many objects from the Heeramaneck collection were either purchased or donated to American museums. Items from their collection may be found in The British Museum; the Cleveland Museum of Art; Los Angeles County Museum; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Museum of New Delhi; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; and Yale University.

  [2] See object file for copy of the Heeramaneck Galleries invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, dated July 9, 1966, and marked approved on July 14, 1966. F1966.31 is described as, “Indian painting of a murder scene with four women upstairs in house, Kulahdar style, 16th century A.D.” F1966.32 is described as, “Indian painting of Krishna and Balaram, cow and attendants, Kulahdar style, 16th century A.D.”

  Research updated November 3, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Arts of Mughal India (2004) (August 21, 2004 to February 6, 2005)

  Masterworks of Indian Painting (December 13, 1997 to June 13, 1998)

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

  The Arts of South Asia (May 13, 1985 to December 2, 1985)

  The Imperial Image: Painting for the Mughal Court (September 25, 1981 to 30 March 1982)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Heeramaneck Galleries (active 1928-1964)

• Origin

  Delhi-Agra, North India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1520s, 1510s

• Name

  Heeramaneck Galleries

• Place

  Delhi-Agra, India

• Topic

  Water, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Sleeping, Palace, Turtles, Dance, Bhagavata Purana, Murder, Sanskrit

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings