"Indra Worships the Elephant-Headed God Ganesha, Seated on a Throne." Folio from the Tehri Garhwal Series of the Gita Govinda

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The deity Ganesha is venerated for removing material and spiritual obstacles, so it is fitting that this opening folio from a Gita Govinda series depicts the god Indra’s reverence for him. Sitting on a low throne within a pavilion, Ganesha is treated like an icon in a temple rather than as a narrative participant. The painters who produced this work are the descendants of the great artist Manaku (active ca. 1725–60), who created a related Gita Govinda series, and his brother Nainsukh (active ca. 1735–78), who stylistically updated Manaku’s compositions and produced more than 150 drawings of his own that became the basis of this series. After Nainsukh’s death in 1778 the artists’ family and their workshop painted these fully realized masterpieces of late Pahari tradition.

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