1885-1910 Anonymous

A fine Jaipur-Kishangarh school miniature depicting Krishna seated in a lotus grove with four Gopis under a moonlit sky. Each Gopi engages in a different devotional act-offering flowers, fanning him, and playing the vina-forming a balanced composition typical of late Rajput court style. The scene features rich black and green tonal layering with gold accents and a domed temple visible in the background. Painted in opaque watercolor and gold on handmade paper, this work exemplifies the lyrical grace and devotional refinement of late 19th-century Jaipur ateliers. The reverse contains Devanagari account text with names (Haridas, Vishnudas, Lalaji, Mohanlal) and monetary values, indicating reused ledger paper from mid-19th-century Rajasthan. TRANSLATION (SELECTED LINES - DEVANAGARI REVERSE) 1. श्री गणेशाय नमः → In the name of Lord Ganesha 2. हिरदास - ५५ → Haridas - 55 rupees 3. िवष्णुदास - ७५ → Vishnudas - 75 rupees 4. लालाजी - ९५ → Lalaji - 95 rupees 5. मोहनलाल - १०५ → Mohanlal - 105 rupees 6. कु ल - ३३० → Total - 330 rupees 7. िदनांक १२११ संवत → Dated Samvat 1211 (≈ 1854 CE) 8. हस्ताक्षर भाई शंकर → Signed: Bhai Shankar (clerk or accountant) CONCLUSION An elegant devotional painting uniting sacred and commercial histories through the reuse of 19th-century ledger paper. The painting's refined Jaipur-Kishangarh idiom, strong preservation, and documented reverse inscriptions confirm its authenticity and period. This piece pairs directly with Item 171, likely from the same workshop, and together they exemplify the late-Rajput syncretism between religious art and mercantile recordkeeping.