Sarasvati

1878–83

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 251

The goddess of learning, music, and the arts is readily identified by her golden vina and the bundle of palm-leaf books in her lap. Her appearance is prescribed in iconographic sources: she has a white complexion, wears a gold-trimmed white sari, and sits on a white lotus that rises from a pond. She rests one foot on her celestial vehicle, a swan. The print’s setting combines landscapes—the lush inland forests, the coast’s palm trees, and the icy mountain ranges of the north (Shiva’s abode). Sarasvati’s ancient origins can be traced to the now-lost river that bore her name. While her identification with a sacred river receded in later Hinduism, she retained her associations with water and its life-giving, purifying powers.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Sarasvati
Date: 1878–83
Culture: West Bengal, Kolkata
Medium: Lithograph with black ink, watercolor, and varnish on paper
Dimensions: Sheet: 15 7/8 × 12 1/2 in. (40.3 × 31.8 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchase, The Kipper Family Foundation Gift, 2021
Object Number: 2021.203
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Great Indian Fruit Bat, Bhawani Das or a follower Indian, Pencil, ink, and opaque watercolor on paper — Great Indian Fruit Bat
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Matangi, Lithograph with black ink, watercolor, and varnish on paper, West Bengal, Kolkata — Matangi
West Bengal, Kolkata
ca. 1880–85

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