Krishna entertains his companions

Object Details

• School/Tradition

  Guler or Chamba school

• Provenance

  To 1968

  Sri Ram Gopal, Vijaivargia, Jaipur, India.

  1968

  Sale, London, Christie, Manson & Woods, Important Autograph Letters Manuscripts and Drawings Oriental Miniatures and Manuscripts, December 18, 1968, lot no. 111: “Krishna Plays his Flute.” [1]

  From 1968 to 2001

  Ralph Benkaim, (1914-2001), Beverly Hills, California, purchased at auction by Maggs on behalf of Ralph Benkaim, Christie, Manson & Woods, “Important Autograph Letters Manuscripts and Drawings Oriental Miniatures and Manuscripts,” December 18, 1968, lot no. 111: “Krishna Plays his Flute.” [2]

  From 2001 to 2018

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Beverly Hills, California, by inheritance from Ralph Benkaim in 2001. [3]

  From 2018

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, partial gift and purchase from Catherine Glynn Benkaim. [4]

  Notes:

  [1] See auction catalogue from Christie’s, London, “Important Autograph Letters Manuscripts and Drawings Oriental Miniatures and Manuscripts.”

  [2] Ralph Benkaim purchased the painting in December 1968 from Christie’s, London, several years before paintings were classified as antiquities by the Indian government, according to his personal records, obtained via Catherine Glynn Benkaim. A telegram from Maggs 18 December 1968 to Mr. Benkaim indicates that Maggs made the purchase on Mr. Benkaim’s behalf.

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

  [4] See note 3.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Sri Ram Gopal Vijaivargia

  Ralph and Catherine Benkaim

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim

• Origin

  Guler or Chamba, Himachal Pradesh 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

  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, 1750s

• Name

  Sri Ram Gopal Vijaivargia, Benkaim, Ralph and Catherine, Benkaim, Catherine Glynn

• Place

  Guler, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh state, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Krishna, Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, Cows, Flute

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings