Desvarati Ragini: Folio from a ragamala series (Garland of Musical Modes)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ragamala texts describe the woman in this scene as “a lady whose gesture is one of languor and silence, whose eyes are restless from lack of sleep, who is exhausted by the effort of love-making.” Here, the artist shows a woman sitting with arms upraised in longing, looking back at an empty bed in an attempt to translate the mood of the text and the related musical passage into a pictorial representation.

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