Dana Lila: The taking of the Toll

Object Details

• School/Tradition

  Bundi school

• Label

  Just as the sun sets over the trees, Krishna teases the gopis by demanding they pay him a toll in order to cross the Yamuna River. Krishna says that he will only take the milk the gopis carry in the small pots on their heads and playfully tries to grab one. Twisting away from - but also turning towards - the blue-skinned god, the milkmaids refuse to give up the milk that they had planned to sell the milk at market. After playfully arguing all night, Krishna finally wins the debate in the morning. The gopis surrender not only the milk, but also their bodies and minds into the service of the god.

  The episode unfolds in a grove by the Yamuna river, which appears, lotus-filled and swirling, in the foreground. At the upper right, the setting sun is a spiky red form. The artist created a verdant setting with flowering trees, but also left the ground between the two central trees red, a stylistic decision that harkens back to earlier painting (such as the Chawand Ragamala, ca 1605, F1991.1) and draws the viewer's attention to Krishna.

  The composition represents a shift from pre-Mughal conventions. The artist broke the planarity of earlier compositions by placing the feet of the three figures at different levels, and twisting their bodies, which gives a sense of movement through space.

• Provenance

  To 1966

  Doris Wiener Gallery, New York [1]

  From 1966 to 2001

  Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), Beverly Hills, California, purchased from Doris Wiener Gallery, New York in June 1966 [2]

  From 2001 to 2018

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, by inheritance from Ralph Benkaim in 2001

  From 2018

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim

  [1] Ralph Benkaim purchased the painting from Doris Wiener Gallery, New York in June 1966, several years before Indian paintings were classified as antiquities by the Indian government, according to his personal records, as relayed by Catherine Glynn Benkaim.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Doris Wiener Gallery

  Ralph and Catherine Benkaim

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim

• Origin

  Bundi, Rajasthan state, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1650s, 1660s

• Name

  Doris Wiener Gallery, Benkaim, Ralph and Catherine, Benkaim, Catherine Glynn

• Place

  Bundi, Rajasthan state, India

• Topic

  Gopi, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Krishna, Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings