Indian Pichvai or Devotional Shrine Hanging

Rows of white cattle crowd in tight formation around one dark-faced figure.

This pichvai or devotional shrine hanging is from Nathdwara, Rajasthan, India, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th 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. On cloth, a a dark figure with a red skirt and tall crown stands among dozens of white cows decorated with orange flowers. Palm fronds arch overhead beneath a dark blue sky, with small herders at the corners. It is 41 inches wide and 54 high.

A great deal of cow, organized with surprising grace.