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Home , Garuda, Indian cobra, King cobra, Mayura (mythology), Sharabha

The Peacock and the : James Prosek among the Arts of

November 27, 2013–April 2014 Wood Gallery 227 Philadelphia Museum of Art

IHA_James_Prosek_FINAL_materials_11-27-13 copy.docx 1 [INTRODUCTORY TEXT]

The Peacock and the Cobra, a portfolio by artist and naturalist James Prosek (American, born 1975), forms the centerpiece of this exhibition. Also on view are a variety of painted pages and other objects from the Museum’s rich collection of art from and . While Prosek is not himself South Asian, the narratives that compose The Peacock and the Cobra invoke a range of ideas and images from the subcontinent. The artist, a keen observer of nature, is best known for his portrayals of fish and , real and imagined. His technique—most often finely detailed watercolor—is closely akin to the realistic portrayals of local flora and fauna created by Indian artists for British patrons during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Yet Prosek also playfully inverts the documentary tradition of natural history painting. The portfolio takes the form of a colonial-era matchbox from Multanshire, a fictional amalgam of a South Asian and British region. Hybridity, a term used both in biology and in cultural studies, holds a special fascination for the artist. In the final folio of The Peacock and the Cobra, Prosek portrays the two creatures fusing into a single being. Although legendary antagonists, they are surprisingly alike: the peacock’s sinuous neck echoes the cobra’s body, and both are known for their aggressive posturing and hissing battle calls. Prosek’s visual reflection on their combined form is both thoughtful and provocative, and experiencing the work in a South Asian context probes the unexpected cultural dialogue that constitutes global art in a modern world.

IHA_James_Prosek_FINAL_materials_11-27-13 copy.docx 2 Peacocks and in South Asia

The Indian blue is native to South Asia, found in domestic settings as well as in the wild. With their strident call, loudest when they mate during the monsoon season, peacocks symbolize unrequited love and longing. Their many-“eyed” tails and bright blue bodies speak, in the Hindu world, of divine power and beauty; they often appear in depictions of the blue-skinned god , the god Karttikeya (’s son), and , goddess of wisdom. Through Middle Eastern legends and Christian symbology, they are associated with immortality. They also represent royalty, from the peacock-feather fans held by an Indian king’s attendants to the famous Mughal Peacock Throne.

Cobras, including the common and the enormous , are found across the subcontinent. All are noted for their characteristic motion of rearing up and spreading their hoods when startled. The symbolism of cobras, and in general, is even richer and more profound than that of the peacock. Revered and feared, they rule the underworld and guard wealth. They shelter the Buddha and the Jain savior-saint Parshvanatha during their meditation, and they ornament fierce gods including Shiva. Thanks to their ever-regenerating skins, cobras also symbolize renewal and rebirth, especially across the Middle East and the Christian world. During the eighteenth- and nineteenth- century colonial expansion, Europeans came to associate these animals with Asia and so both peacocks and cobras came to represent the exotic.

IHA_James_Prosek_FINAL_materials_11-27-13 copy.docx 3 The Peacock and the Cobra 2008 Cardboard box, clear glue, crushed walnut shells, wooden matchstick with plastic tip, five intaglio prints (plates 3 and 4 are hand colored) printed on Magnani Pescia paper, one linoleum cut printed on Moriki Japanese paper

James Prosek American Born 1975

The Peacock and the Cobra is an artist’s book that includes five prints stored in a portfolio box that resembles an oversized Indian-made matchbox. The vivid prints depict the conflict between a peacock and a cobra. While the pairing is not unknown in art (peacocks do hunt serpents and arranged fights between the animals are considered a sport), the scenes here veer toward the fantastic. Each print captures a moment in a loosely poetic narrative: a view of succulent hanging from a tree, the surprising emergence of a cobra from the fruit, the tense meeting of the two creatures, the cobra’s body tightly coiled around the bird’s neck. The final, startling image reveals a mythological amalgam of bird and , a beast with the head and tail of a peacock and the hood and body of a cobra.

This imaginary intermingling of to create a hybrid is a recurring theme in James Prosek’s work. Artist, writer, filmmaker, and naturalist, Prosek bases his representations of animals on extensive research and fieldwork. Yet in works such as this book, he moves beyond documentation to explore notions of , nature, and the arts.

Gift of the Jones Wajahat Family Collection, 2013-3-1a–m

Shiva in the Form of Sharabha 1830 Opaque watercolor and gold on cloth

India (Rajasthan, possibly Jaipur)

This image narrates an unusual tale of Hindu sectarian rivalry. In to subdue , the fierce man- of the god , the god Shiva took the form of Lord Sharabha, an enormous, multi- limbed lion-bird. Here Sharabha wears Shiva’s characteristic cobras all over his body. In addition, Shiva’s sectarian mark appears on his forehead and Shiva himself emerges from his flaming heart. Rather than Narasimha, however, Sharabha grasps many tiny man-lions in his multiple talons.

IHA_James_Prosek_FINAL_materials_11-27-13 copy.docx 4 A inscription in the upper part of the page elaborates: The (sacred phrase) for contemplating Venerable Lord Sharabha is as follows: He has a dark complexion, he is great, he moves easily. He has the sun, moon, and fire as his eyes; and holds a discus, thunderbolt, trident, arrow, pestle, mace, , bow, conch, plough, serpent, and other weapons. He destroys enemies. You must worship him. I worship him, he who is the king of the birds. This is the mantra for meditating on Venerable Lord Sharabha.

Gift of Herbert Gordon Zahn, 1978-124-1

A Attacking a Gajasimha Carrying Elephants Early 19th century Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

India (Rajasthan, Jodhpur)

With the yellow body of a lion, four golden wings, and a bright red elephant’s head, the hybrid , a gajasimha (elephant-lion), flings around seven small elephants using claws, trunk, tusks, and tail. Swooping down from above is a fabulously colored -like bird, a simurgh, which upends four more elephants in its tail feathers. The ferocity of the battle is evidenced by the simurgh’s beak sunk deep into the gajasimha’s back, and the elephant’s wounds where the larger beasts grasp them. In Islam, the simurgh represents union with the divine. The motif was brought from Persia to India as early as 1600, where it may have merged with the sunbird , the vehicle of the god Vishnu.

Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994-148-400

Kamadhenu, The Wish-Granting Cow c. 1825–55 Opaque watercolor and metallic pigments on paper

India (Rajasthan, Jodhpur or Nathdwara)

This vision of Kamadhenu, the wish-granting cow of ancient Hindu legend, combines a white zebu cow with the crowned, frontal female face, colorful “” wings, and peacock tail of Buraq, the animal that the prophet Muhammad rode to heaven on his night journey (Miraj). From at least the fifteenth century, Persian paintings showed Buraq with a horse’s body, wings, and a woman’s face; the peacock tail may have been an Indian addition. Popular portrayals of Kamadhenu in India today often show her in this Indo-Persian composite form; this may be one of the earliest images to merge the visual characteristics of the Hindu Kamadhenu with the Islamic Buraq.

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Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994-148-401

Fan c. 1820–30 Goose feathers tipped with peacock feathers, painted in gouache; pierced bone sticks and guards

China

Produced in the eighteenth century for European and American markets, feather fans were popular export items from China. This particular of fan, made of goose feathers tipped with the eye of a peacock feather and mounted on pierced bone sticks, first appeared during the early nineteenth century. The goose feathers are painted with Cantonese-style flowers, pomegranates, and a butterfly, typical export decoration that characterized the work of porcelain painters and watercolorists. Like European collectors based in South Asia, those in what was known as the “Far East” were amassing parallel collections of decorative and other seemingly exotic goods.

Gift of Mrs. Henry W. Breyer, Sr., 1967-17-23

Teapot c. 1890–1900 Silver with repoussé work, ivory

India (Bhowanipore, , )

Grish Chunder Dutt Indian Active late 19th to early 20th century

Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), in the eastern Indian region of Bengal, long served as the British colonial capital. For most of the nineteenth century, silversmiths in Kolkata catered to British tastes, producing wares with simple lines and minimal embellishment. However, in the months leading up to the great Calcutta International Exhibition of 1883, a community of artisans pioneered a new type of luxury silverware covered with detailed depictions of rural scenes and festivals.

This design shift may have been driven by a desire to fashion a more distinctly recognizable mode of silverware for the global market. Ironically, these images were largely inspired by paintings and photographs produced by British travelers to the region, displaying an idealized view of village life that

IHA_James_Prosek_FINAL_materials_11-27-13 copy.docx 6 fused the pastoral with the exotic. In this teapot, an “exotic” cobra wraps around the handle above a body covered in peaceful rural scenes.

Gift of Joan K. Short, 2007-111-1

The Fruit and Leaf of a Fig Tree c. 1795–1800 Opaque watercolor on European paper

India (West Bengal, Kolkata)

Toward the end of the eighteenth century, British officials living in India commissioned Indian painters to make images of local flora and fauna. Following the precedents of British wildlife and botanical illustration, these pictures document species with scientific precision. Usually the subject floats on a paper background and several views are included in the same illustration. Identified in the English inscription on the reverse, Ficus macrophylla is a type of fig tree common in central and western as well as other parts of Asia, which fruit in clusters from spurs that protrude from the branches.

Natural history drawings were not only beautiful works of art, but also an effective way to promote the wonders of the subcontinent. As a result, a whole range of actual specimens were imported to European parks and gardens, and Indian flora and fauna were transformed into favorite ornamental motifs for British fabrics and decorative objects.

Bequest of Dean Walker, 2006-53-131

Crimson Horned Pheasant (Satyr Tragopan) c. 1775–1800 Watercolor on paper

India (West Bengal or )

Like the painting of the fruit and leaf of a fig tree displayed nearby, this image was created by an Indian artist for a British patron. For eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British collectors, such exact depictions of birds and other animals provided a means to catalog and analyze a foreign and unknown land. Found exclusively in the Himalayas, the crimson horned pheasant must have been a curious sight to those more accustomed to European fauna. The precise manner in which the artist depicted the splendidly patterned bird demonstrates the parallel interests in the biological sciences and fine arts that characterized Europe in the eighteenth century.

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Gift of William P. Wood in memory of Mia Wood, 1984-82-1

Akrura’s Mystic Vision Page from a dispersed series of the Purana (Story of the Lord Vishnu) c. 1760–65 Opaque watercolor with gold on paper

India (Himachal Pradesh/Jammu , Basohli)

The tenth book of the major Hindu text the tells of the life and deeds of Krishna, an earthly incarnation of the god Vishnu. This painting shows the deceitful nobleman Akrura experiencing a mystic vision of Krishna as the cosmic deity. At upper left, Akrura invites Krishna to a celebration that is in reality a trap. At right, Krishna and his brother travel to the festivities by chariot. Along the way Akrura stops to take a ritual bath in a river. Each time Akrura immerses himself, he experiences a mystic vision. First he sees the divine brothers sitting together underwater (lower right), although he knows they are actually seated in the chariot. In his final vision (lower left), he perceives the four-armed Vishnu (Krishna) resting on the eternal serpent Adishesha, here portrayed as Balarama. The importance of the serpent in this scene cannot be overlooked; it is said that when Adishesha uncoils, time moves forward; when he recoils, the universe ceases to exist.

Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994-148-483

Kurmavatara (Vishnu’s Incarnation as a Tortoise) Page from a dispersed set and/or Bhagavata Purana (Story of the Lord Vishnu) c. 1760–65 Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

India (Himachal Pradesh, Basohli or Chamba)

The Hindu god Vishnu activates each cycle of existence by creating the universe, together with the devas (gods who uphold cosmic order) and the (anti-gods or demons who disrupt it). Vishnu intervenes in the perpetual struggle by incarnating in earthly forms called , usually standardized as a set of ten. The second of Vishnu’s avatars was the tortoise (seen here as the circle in the water that supports the pink mountain on which Vishnu sits). When chaos and floods devastated the earth, all good things were lost in an ocean of milk. Kurma dove to the ocean bottom and the devas and asuras joined forces to set the cosmic mountain Meru on his back. Then the serpent king Vasuki wrapped around the mountain as a churning rope. The devas and asuras stood on opposite sides,

IHA_James_Prosek_FINAL_materials_11-27-13 copy.docx 8 churning the ocean of milk to release the treasures. These included Kamadhenu, the wish-granting cow seen in another painting nearby.

Gift of Stella Kramrisch, 1984-139-1

Shiva Describes the Benefits of Pilgrimage to Holy Kedarnath Page from a dispersed series of the Kedara Kalpa c. 1800–1825 Opaque watercolor, gold, and silver colored paint on paper

India (Himachal Pradesh, Kangra)

The god Shiva and his wife, , sit on a tiger skin beneath a great flowering tree. Shiva’s bull, , rests nearby. The divine couple’s many-headed son Karttikeya, the god of war, kneels before them, accompanied by his vehicle, the peacock. Two of Karttikeya’s hands are folded in quiet reverence toward his parents. Shiva is dressed as a prince with courtly jewelry and an elaborate peaked with pearl fringe matching that on the royal umbrella above him. The live snake at his waist, the faint forms of a third eye and crescent moon at his brow, and the long, thin staff of the trident he holds tucked under one arm are the only traces of his divine identity.

125th Anniversary Acquisition. Alvin O. Bellak Collection, 2001-43-1

Astrological Sign of Capricorn c. 1810–20 Opaque watercolor on paper

India (Himachal Pradesh, Kangra)

Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac corresponding to December–January, is most often represented as a hybrid animal mingling the form of a goat with the hind quarters of a . Here, instead, is the Indian black buck with a long, crocodile-like trunk that ends in a fish tail, the iconography of which derives from sixteenth-century Islamic Mughal Empire coins and paintings. The composite creature stands on the banks of a river in a highly detailed landscape setting, straddling the threshold between water and earth.

Gift of Nancy and Wayne Hunnicutt, 2010-176-1

IHA_James_Prosek_FINAL_materials_11-27-13 copy.docx 9 Gray Partridge c. 18th century Opaque watercolor on paper

India (possibly Punjab)

This lightly colored drawing is an unfinished work. Traces of chalky underdrawing are clearly visible, as are previous sketches of the bird’s head and beak, later corrected and eventually completely redrawn. On close inspection, it is possible to see that the black lines have been pricked with a pin, making the page into a stencil that could be used to transfer the drawing from one sheet of paper to another using powdered charcoal. This whimsical depiction makes an interesting comparison with The Fruit and Leaf of a Fig Tree and Crimson Horned Pheasant displayed nearby. While the latter two works were created for British patrons interested in documenting the flora and fauna of the British Empire, Gray Partridge belongs to a parallel tradition of descriptive painting that had been practiced at many royal courts in India since the sixteenth century.

Bequest of Dean Walker, 2006-53-133

Oil Lamp in the Form of a Peacock 19th century alloy

Bangladesh or India (West Bengal)

This oil lamp was most likely used in Hindu ritual practice, as the resplendent beauty of the peacock is often associated with the divine. As described in the , an epic Hindu text, , the leader of the gods, was unable to defeat the evil king , and so sheltered under the wing of a peacock. Indra later blessed the bird with a “thousand eyes” and fearlessness of serpents.

The peacock is seen as both an expression of nature’s beauty and a protective force in three of the major religions originating in India (, , and ). Peacock motifs are widespread: temple architecture, coins, and textiles are often decorated with peacock plumage, and many deities are associated with the bird. Krishna is often depicted with feathers in his crown and worshippers of Shiva view the bird as the (vehicle) of his son Karttikeya, the god of war.

Gift of Dr. David Nalin and Dr. Richard Nalin, 2010-155-2

Gouda Mallar Ragini: Tribal Women in the Forest

IHA_James_Prosek_FINAL_materials_11-27-13 copy.docx 10 Page from a dispersed ragamala (garland of musical modes) c. 1650 Opaque watercolor with gold on paper

Central India (Malwa region, Madhya Pradesh)

Against a blue background with a high, curved horizon, two tribal women stand atop a stylized hill in a dense forest. Dressed in peacock-feather skirts and crowns, one woman holds a string instrument (vina) while another grasps a peacock-feather fan (morchaal). Two peacocks voice their presence from tall, symmetrical trees. Peacocks produce loud calls, especially during their breeding season, which coincides with the lush vegetation and heavy air of the monsoon. The flamboyantly colored birds are associated with the rainy season: the shape of the peacock’s tail articulates the movement of the wind and pattern of the rain. Gouda mallar ragani, a representation of the musical mode in painting, song, and verse, usually depicts the tender longing of unrequited love. Portraying the penetrating cry of the peacock, symbolic of an absent lover, is a fitting symbol.

Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994-148-528

Swami Hanuhaak c. 1755 Transparent and opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper

India (Rajasthan, Kishangarh) Ascribed to Nihalchand

With his fantastic peacock-feather crown, wooden shoes, and bright wrap, this holy man is an instantly charming figure. The bell at his ear suggests that he may be an itinerant storyteller or singer. Such storytellers still ply their trade in India, going from village to village, belting out their tales to the rhythm of bells or drums. Such an occupation requires a loud voice, considerable stamina, and a fearless sense of style.

The inscription identifies him as Swami Hanuhaak, but his protruding belly, flamboyant , and oversized sword affirm that he is more a figure of entertainment than religious gravity. Clues to eighteenth-century Kishangarh humor are found in the often cryptic inscriptions, as is the case with this painting where even his name translates as a pun, meaning (more or less) “jaw like a collard green leaf” and “armed with a great shout.”

125th Anniversary Acquisition. Alvin O. Bellak Collection, 2004-149-43

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Scenes from the Life of the Jina Parshvanatha c. 1450–75 Opaque watercolor on cloth

India ()

This painting depicts the life story of the jina Parshvanatha, one of the twenty-four savior saints of the Jain religion. Jinas are human beings who have perfected themselves over many lifetimes by practicing self-denial, helping others, and inflicting no harm on any living creature. At the center of this composition, Parshvanatha stands meditating in a lotus pool, sheltered from above by a thousand- hooded cobra.

The cobra refers to an incident in which the serpent king, Dharanendra, used his hoods to shelter Parshvanatha from a terrible rainstorm sent to break his concentration. Other scenes from the jina’s life unfold in the surrounding panels, while larger female attendants, some of whom are cobra-topped to indicate that they are the wives of the snake king, fill the panels to either side. Such large-scale paintings were intended for devotion and meditation.

125th Anniversary Acquisition. Alvin O. Bellak Collection, 2003-143-1

Kantha (Embroidered Quilt) Late 19th or early 20th century Cotton plain weave with cotton embroidery in back, darning, satin, running, and seed stitches

Bangladesh (Faridpur District)

In the lower half of this kantha two peacocks battle over a snake, their wings raised, a distinctive regional motif. , often translated as “killer of snakes,” is the word for peacock in several South Asian languages, including Bengali. The four figures in the upper half of the quilt are unrelated to this scene: the fierce goddess , brandishing her ritual chopper and a severed head while standing on a corpse; the god Krishna, playing his flute, and his lover, , together on a lotus; and a fan-bearing attendant. These figures probably narrate the Bengali tale of how, to avoid detection, Krishna miraculously transformed into Kali when Radha’s mother nearly caught them together. While the transformation is shown here, it is incomplete: Krishna’s peacock-feather crown has yet to turn into Kali’s banana-pith headdress.

Gift of Stella Kramrisch, 1968-184-6

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Kantha (Embroidered Quilt) 1875 Plain weave cotton with cotton embroidery in back, buttonhole, darning, satin, split, running, eye, and dot stitches

Bangladesh (Faridpur District)

Scenes from the Ramayana intertwine with the story of the Bengali snake goddess Manasa on this early kantha. The goddess, portrayed as a snake-flanked water pot at lower left, is both benevolent (she protects from ) and malicious (she unleashes her snakes and inflicts deadly ). When Manasa was denied worship by a wealthy landholder, she killed each of his sons on their wedding nights. When his youngest son married, the landholder built a house of iron to protect him, but Manasa’s snakes wiggled though a hole in the wall, as depicted at lower right. The valiant widow Behula takes her husband’s body on a river odyssey to visit the god Shiva who successfully resurrects all four brothers.

Gift of Stella Kramrisch, 1968-184-8

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