Indian Pichvai or Devotional Shrine Hanging

Blue-faced figure in a green oval floats amid a sea of white cattle.

This pichvai or devotional shrine hanging is from Nathdwara, Rajasthan, India, and dates to the late 19th century. It is pigment & cotton. In Hindi, pich means back and vai means hanging, an apt description of large decorative paintings hung behind tables or mats holding offerings and statues of Krishna. Cloth with a central green oval holding a small standing figure in a flared skirt, ringed by pale cattle patterned with dots. Palm trees stretch across a dark top edge, and a water band runs along the foot. It is 42 inches wide and 59 high.

A quiet center, surrounded by an orderly stampede.