Description
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Pichhwai have been painted as part of Pushtimarg Hindu temple decorations since the seventeenth century using a wide array of colorful pigments on cotton cloth. The Pushtimarg sect creates elaborate decorations that change frequently depending on the season, time of day, and specific festival customs. Pichhwai Illustrate stories of Shrinathji, Krishna as a young boy, and hang behind the god on the altar to indicate the festival and time of year. In the Deccan school, pichhwai scenes are painted over a brilliant gold leaf and indigo background, whereas in the Nathdwara school, located in Rajasthan, the entire cloth substrate is painted in bright colors. Pichhwai are part of a living tradition, and artists who paint them incorporate new pigments when they become available. In this talk, conservation scientist Jennifer Giaccai will discuss analysis conducted on NMAA’s collection, which includes more than thirty pichhwai and related objects, to support an upcoming exhibition.
This talk is part of the monthly lunchtime series Sneak Peek: New Research from the National Museum of Asian Art, where staff members present brief, personal perspectives and ongoing research, followed by discussion. This year, the series focuses on the theme of journeys—those that works of art depict and those they have undergone—in the collections of the National Museum of Asian Art.
Jennifer Giaccai is a conservation scientist in the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, where she’s worked since 2015. She previously worked at the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Her current research interests include the study of black inks used in both prints and calligraphy in Asia, and changes in pigments used over time throughout Asia.
Cost
Free
Topics
Lectures & Discussions, Webcasts & Online
Event Series
Sneak Peek: New Research from the National Museum of Asian Art 2023
