Dipak Raga: Folio from a Ragamala Series (Garland of Musical Modes)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Dipak Raga is associated with night and is meant to evoke the mood of intimacy between lovers. Legend has it that one of Emperor Akbar’s musicians started a palace fire after being forced to play this raga against his better judgment. Typically, depictions of this raga incorporate fire imagery of some sort; here, it takes the form of a pair of women holding lamps. No illusionistic space is shown and the figures are juxtaposed within a mapped architectural space as is typical of Malwa painting from the first half of the seventeenth century.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art