AN INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTING OF KRISHNA AND RADHA BY THE YAMUNA RIVER
India, Rajasthan, Jaipur, 19th century. Watercolors and gold on paper. Krishna is standing with legs crossed and holding a flute in his raised right hand, adorned with fine jewelry and billowing scarves, embracing Radha, who is wearing red and yellow robes and holding a lotus flower. The holy white bull Nandi stands beside them with the head raised. The background with a row of trees in front of the Yamuna river with lotus.

Provenance: From a private collection in London, United Kingdom, formed during the 1970s. The reverse with old pen and pencil inventory inscriptions.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, soiling, and creasing, few minuscule losses, possibly microscopic touchups.

Dimensions: Image size 23 x 17.5 cm. Mounted with a protective flyleaf.

The Yamuna is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganga. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of 6,387 meters on the slopes of the Lower Himalaya, it travels a total length of 1,376 kilometers. Like the Ganga, the Yamuna is highly venerated in Hinduism and worshipped as the goddess Yamuna. In Hinduism she is the daughter of the Sun God, Surya, and the sister of Yama, the God of Death, hence also known as Yami. According to popular legends, bathing in its sacred waters frees one from the torments of death.

Literature comparison: Compare a closely related miniature painting of Krishna and Radha, painted in an identical style typical of 19th century Jaipur, in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number D.405-1908. Compare also a related miniature painting with identical iconography, dated 1768, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number IM.24-1917.

Auction result comparison: Compare a related Indian miniature painting of Krisha and Radha, dated circa 1810, at Christie's London in Arts of India on 12 June 2018, lot 146, sold for GBP 5,250.