Pichhwai for the Festival of Cows
Details
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Dimensions
- 97 5/8 x 103 1/8 in. (248 x 262 cm)
- Department
- Asian Art
- Holding institution
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Image provider
- metropolitan-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2003
Art Genome Taxonomy
12 tags
Subject Matter
-
Animals Both · 100%
Numerous cattle visibly occupy the central field, and the museum catalog lists “Cows” as the subject.
Visual Qualities
-
Patterns Visual · 99%
Repeated floral motifs, scrolling foliage, and regularly arranged cattle produce an extensively patterned surface.
-
Dense Composition Visual · 99%
The central field is densely filled with overlapping rows of cattle, floral marks, and several small human figures, leaving little unoccupied ground.
-
Highly Ornamented Visual · 99%
The wide border and interior field are richly elaborated with floral scrolls, blossoms, and repeated ornamental bands.
Medium and Techniques
-
Painting Both · 96%
Painted passages cover the cloth, and the catalog identifies opaque watercolor as part of the medium.
-
Gold Leaf and Gilding Both · 98%
Metallic gold decoration is visibly used throughout the composition, and the catalog records painted and printed gold leaf.
Time Periods
-
18th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the work to the late eighteenth century, with date bounds of 1767–1799.
Geographic Regions
-
Indian Art Metadata · 97%
The catalog records the place of origin as India, Deccan, Aurangabad (?), while marking the precise locality as uncertain.
Materials
-
Gold Both · 99%
Gold-colored passages are prominent in the cattle and floral ornament, and the catalog specifies gold leaf in the medium.
-
Silver Both · 95%
Silver-gray passages are visible among the cattle and decoration, and the catalog specifies silver leaf in the medium.
-
Natural Fibers Metadata · 100%
The catalog identifies the support as indigo-dyed cotton, a natural fiber.
Textiles
-
Textile Arts Both · 99%
The work is visibly a large painted cloth, and the catalog classifies it as a ceremonial cloth within painted and printed textiles.
Source & rights
Unknown artist. Pichhwai for the Festival of Cows. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.