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]

  ?-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]

  2002-2018

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim, purchased at Sotheby’s auction [4]

  From 2018

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

  Notes:

  [1] See notes from Catherine Glynn Benkaim, April 27, 2015, copy in the object file. See also the catalogue referenced in note 2.

  Kapoor Galleries, Inc., is a dealer in New York, NY, founded in 1975 by Ramesh Kapoor and Urmil Kapoor and later joined by Ramesh's son, Suneet Kapoor. The gallery specializes in the sale of art from Indian and the Himalayas, specifically bronzes, sculptures, miniatures, and thangkas. The gallery has exhibited at art fairs, including Asia Week in New York and their clients have included private collectors and institutions.

  [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. Catherine Glynn Benkaim is a collector and scholar in the field of Indian painting. Dr. Benkaim met her husband, Ralph Benkaim, in the 1970s when she was the curator of Indian painting at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The couple were married 1979 and together they amassed a collection of Indian paintings, which included examples from most courts. They collected objects for their collection through dealers and auctions. Objects from their collection may also be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Williams College Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, among others.

  [5] See “Appendix B Bill of Sale” and “Appendix C Donor Substantiation Letter,” dated January 2, 2018, copy in object file. From 2018-2023, the object the object was part of the National Museum of Asian Art’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection and on March 21, 2023, the work was internally transferred to the National Museum of Asian Art Collection.

  Research updated April 2, 2025.

• 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

  probably 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)

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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