id:			92759
accession number:	2019.68
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2019.68
updated:		2022-02-09 20:58:04.591000

Krishna's Butter Ball, Mahabalipuram, c. 1900s. Unidentified Photographer. Gelatin silver print, toned, on collodion printing-out paper; image: 15.3 x 10.8 cm (6 x 4 1/4 in.); paper: 15.3 x 10.8 cm (6 x 4 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Barbara Tannenbaum and Mark Soppeland 2019.68

title:				Krishna's Butter Ball, Mahabalipuram
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1900s
creation date earliest:		1900
creation date latest:		1950
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Barbara Tannenbaum and Mark Soppeland
copyright:			

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culture:	early 20th century
technique:	Gelatin silver print, toned, on collodion printing-out paper
department:	Photography
collection:	PH - Misc. 20th Century
type:		Photograph
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Unidentified Photographer  - artist

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measurements: Image: 15.3 x 10.8 cm (6 x 4 1/4 in.); Paper: 15.3 x 10.8 cm (6 x 4 1/4 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Life and Exploits of Krishna in Indian Paintings (Indian art rotation)
	opening date:   2021-09-01T04:00:00
	<i>Life and Exploits of Krishna in Indian Paintings (Indian art rotation)</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 1, 2021-February 6, 2022).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	(Pump Park Vintage Photography, Ltd.,  Downpatrick, United Kingdom)
	date: ?–2015
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Barbara L. Tannenbaum, Beachwood, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 2015–2019
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: March 4, 2019–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
It was popular during the early 1900s to tone silver gelatin photographs with gold to give them a warm glow.

digital description: 


wall description: 
Mahabalipuram is a site on India’s southeastern coast where numerous rock-cut temples and sculptures were carved during the early 600s. The site includes a remarkable, naturally occurring boulder that became known popularly as Krishna’s Butter Ball, thereby merging a geological phenomenon with sacred narrative. If baby Krishna could crawl while holding this monolith as effortlessly in his hand as a ball of butter, he must be a magnificently powerful god. <br><br>Colonial-era tourists enjoy their excursion to the site with no indication that they recognized its sanctity. Photographs such as this would have been sent back to Britain for viewers to marvel at the landscape of India.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2019.68/2019.68_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2019.68/2019.68_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2019.68/2019.68_full.tif