Lakshmi massaging the foot of Vishnu

Object Details

• Artist

  Composition attributed to Nainsukh (active ca. 1710-1778)

  Painting attributed to Manju (active late 18th century)

• Inscriptions

  Verso: In devanagari gold letters on blue paper, the Sanskrit text is from the Narayana Upanishad of Atharveda. Inscribed in black ink in a different hand: “Majnu te nainsukh ki banai hoi”- (the painting) is (the joint) work of Majnu and Nainsukh/or- Painted by Majnu and Nainsukh/or Done by Majnu and Nainsukh.

• Provenance

  Kapoor Galleries, Inc., New York, New York [1]

  To 2002

  Gloria Katz and Willard M. Huyck Jr., Los Angeles, California [2]

  2002

  Sale, New York, Sotheby’s, Important Indian Paintings from the Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection, March 22, 2002, lot 49: “Lakshmi massaging the foot of Vishnu” [3]

  From 2002 to 2018

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, purchased at auction, “Important Indian Paintings from the Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection,” Sotheby’s, New York, March 22, 2002, lot 49: “Lakshmi massaging the foot of Vishnu” [4]

  From 2018

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim [5]

  Notes:

  [1] See Provenance Remark dated July 20, 2018 in object record.

  [2] See Sotheby’s auction catalogue of the New York sale, “Important Indian Paintings from the Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection” from March 22, 2002.

  [3] See note 2.

  [4] See note 2.

  [5] See Acquisition Justification Form, object file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Vishnu: Hindu's Blue-skinned Saviour (February to October, 2011)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Kapoor Galleries, Inc. (established 1975)

  Willard M. Huyck Jr. (born 1945)

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim

• Origin

  Basohli, Jammu and Kashmir, 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

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

  This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1770s, 1760s

• Name

  Kapoor Galleries, Inc., Huyck, Willard M., Benkaim, Catherine Glynn

• Place

  Basohli, Kashmir, Jammu, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Vishnu, Art, Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, Lakshmi

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings