{
"data": {
"id": 314217,
"accession_number": "2018.91",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "A group of women in ecstasy before Madhava, folio 4 from a Madhavanala-Kamakandala, c. 1720. Northern India, Pahari kingdoms. Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 21.7 x 31 cm (8 9/16 x 12 3/16 in.); image: 19.1 x 28.3 cm (7 1/2 x 11 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2018.91",
"current_location": "242B Indian Painting",
"title": "A group of women in ecstasy before Madhava, folio 4 from a Madhavanala-Kamakandala",
"creation_date": "c. 1720",
"creation_date_earliest": 1715,
"creation_date_latest": 1725,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Northern India, Pahari kingdoms"
],
"technique": "gum tempera and gold on paper",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Indian and Southeast Asian Art",
"collection": "Indian Art",
"type": "Painting",
"measurements": "Page: 21.7 x 31 cm (8 9/16 x 12 3/16 in.); Image: 19.1 x 28.3 cm (7 1/2 x 11 1/8 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"page": {
"height": 0.217,
"height_inch": 8,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.5625,
"width": 0.31,
"width_inch": 12,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.1875
},
"image": {
"height": 0.191,
"height_inch": 7,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.5,
"width": 0.283,
"width_inch": 11,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.125
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [
{
"inscription": "Takri number: 4; Roman numeral: X-K. Ishwari Singh of Sirmur; number 189. sorath\u0101. thak\u012b jara\u1e43ga n\u012b jah\u012b sunata n\u0101da bisa m\u0101dha bha\u012b. tisat\u012b thak\u012b gah\u012b gay\u012b k\u0101ma kam\u012b dhucadh\u0101 imano. caupai. ika tr\u012bya murach\u012b bhum\u012b para para\u012b. ika tr\u012bya g\u012brata ardharadhara dhara\u012b. ek nena so nena m\u012blave. taji sara eka nikata cal\u012b \u0101ve. ek na paharete c\u012bra sambh\u0101r\u0101. vy\u0101kala bha\u012b chut\u012b gaye bar\u0101. ekana bh\u016bkhana dhare ut\u0101r\u012b. ekana taji kancuk\u012b s\u0101r\u012b. eka n\u0101r\u012b cal\u012b uth\u012b sa\u1e43g\u0101. jaise dh\u016bn\u012b mun\u012b cale kura\u1e43ga. doha. k\u0101ma dhukha sara pa\u1e43ca le m\u0101r\u012b tr\u012bha t\u012b s\u012b\u1e6dha\u012b. m\u0101dhavanala mohi save sa\u1e43ga p\u0101ra\u012b k\u012b na\u012b.",
"inscription_translation": "Inscription Translation: Some women followed Madhava like elephants in musth. They were so entranced that they fell to the ground as though struck by Kamadeva\u2019s arrows. The women who had come to the well forgot to fetch water and behaved mesmerized. One woman fainted and fell on the ground, while another woman held herself up to keep from falling. One woman\u2019s gaze fixed upon Madhava\u2019s eyes, while the other began walking towards Madhava, entranced. One woman took her clothes off, while the other\u2019s sari began slipping off. One woman began walking away with Madhava. The magic of Madhava\u2019s music has captivated these women. One woman began walking with Madhava like a deer follows one playing music. Like the moon, Madhava enchanted all of these women.",
"inscription_remark": null,
"sortorder": 1
}
],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 680516,
"title": "Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories",
"description": "Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 18-August 23, 2026).",
"opening_date": "2026-01-18T05:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": []
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim Collection",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "1972\u20132018",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": "2108\u2013",
"sortorder": 2
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "Mesmerized women sitting by the well are removing their jewelry.",
"description": "The raptures of Madhava\u2019s audience intensify. As he plays, the music becomes increasingly climactic. Several women stand immobilized; others make emotive gestures. Some faint, while others feel compelled to remove their clothes and jewelry. Written by a Sufi Muslim poet embracing mysticism, the story shows how devotees should feel toward Allah, god of Islam. In the Hindu courts of Pahari India, however, the story provided entertainment for the educated elite. The women\u2019s ecstasies can also be viewed in the context of the Hindu devotional movement (bhakti), characterized by using poetry and art to stir a sense of erotic love for Krishna or Rama.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60483039"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-2018.91-a-group-of-women-in"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "Griswold, William, Cameron Kitchin, Chase F. Robinson, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, and National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian Institution). Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories, edited by Sonya Rhie Mace, Sarang Sharma, and Vijay Sharma. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2026.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and reproduced: p. 102-109, no. 19c",
"url": ""
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2018.91",
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"date_created": "2016-05-26T17:17:19.018000",
"annotation": ""
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"creditline": "Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": null,
"athena_id": 314217,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "2018-09-04T00:00:00-04:00",
"sortable_date": 1715,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "c. 1720",
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"recently_acquired": false,
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"cover_accession_number": null,
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [
"A group of women in ecstasy before Madhava, from a Madhavanala Kamakandala"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-05-29 08:54:51.197000"
}
}