Indian Pichvai or Devotional Shrine Hanging

Tall, dark-faced figure with strings of pearls stands within a decorative border.

This pichvai or devotional shrine hanging is from Nathdwara, Rajasthan, India, and dates to the late 19th century. It is pigment & cotton. Painting a pichvai was considered a sacred act, a form of sewa or complete devotion to Krishna, and details such as the sequence of episodic borders were treated with care. Large painted cloth in cream and orange, showing a standing figure in a yellow skirt with long strands of pearl necklaces, one arm raised, and lotus flowers at the side. A patterned red border frames it, with small objects at the foot. It is 36 inches wide and 51 high.

Heavily jeweled, firmly upright, and not at all in a hurry.