Skip to main content
The Walters Art Museum

Online Collection

Explore the Art Collection keyboard_arrow_down close
  • Explore By...
  • Category
  • Date
  • Medium
  • Creator
  • Places
  • Museum Locations
The Walters Art Museum walters-logo-white
  • Calendar
  • Art
  • Shop
  • Give Now
  • Visit
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Hours
    • Directions & Parking
    • Food, Drink, & Shop
    • Free Admission
    • Tours
    • Accessibility
    • Visitor Promise
  • Experience
    • Virtual Museum
    • Exhibitions & Installations
    • Programs & Events
    • Collections
    • Buildings
    • Baltimore
  • Support
    • Support the Walters
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Institutional Funders
    • Evening at the Walters
    • Volunteers
  • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Leadership
    • Strategic Plan
    • Land Acknowledgment
    • Research
    • Policies
Image for Krishna with a Butterball
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Zero

Download Image Zoom
Image for Krishna with a Butterball
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Zero

Download Image Zoom
Image for Krishna with a Butterball
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Zero

Download Image Zoom
Image for Krishna with a Butterball
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Zero

Download Image Zoom
  • arrow_forward_ios
  • arrow_forward_ios
Krishna with a Butterball Thumbnail
Krishna with a Butterball Thumbnail
Krishna with a Butterball Thumbnail
Krishna with a Butterball Thumbnail
Krishna with a Butterball Thumbnail
Krishna with a Butterball Thumbnail
Krishna with a Butterball Thumbnail
Krishna with a Butterball Thumbnail

Krishna with a Butterball

Indian (Artist)
17th century
copper alloy with shell inlay and traces of paint
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)

The infant Krishna's fondness for raiding his mother's pantry for butter can be understood metaphorically as a representation of the god's ability to steal the human heart. The sculpture would have been installed in a household shrine in West Bengal.

Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2009, by gift.

Exhibitions

2011-2012 All Things Round: Galazies, Eyeballs and Karma. American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore.
2001-2003 Desire and Devotion: Art from India, Nepal, and Tibet in the John and Berthe Ford Collection. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong.
Share
  • social-item
  • social-item
  • social-item

Geographies

India, West Bengal (Place of Origin)

Measurements

H: 9 1/4 × W: 6 7/16 × D: 10 1/16 in. (23.5 × 16.3 × 25.6 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2009

Location in Museum

Not on view

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

54.3079

Do you have additional information?

Notify the curator

Hours

  • Wednesday—Sunday: 10 a.m.—5 p.m.
  • Thursday: 1–8 p.m.
  • Monday—Tuesday: Closed

Location

600 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD
21201

Phone

410-547-9000

  • Visit
  • Experience
  • What's On
  • About
  • Shop
  • Support The Walters
copyright

The Walters Art Museum

  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy/Terms of Use
  • Copyright Info
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • twitter
modal close
Image for
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Tooltip description to define this term for visitors to the website.

zoom-btn zoom-btn preview-download
Image for
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Tooltip description to define this term for visitors to the website.

zoom-btn zoom-btn preview-download
Image for
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Tooltip description to define this term for visitors to the website.

zoom-btn zoom-btn preview-download
Image for
tooltip-icon Creative Commons License

Tooltip description to define this term for visitors to the website.

zoom-btn zoom-btn preview-download
  • arrow_forward_ios
  • arrow_forward_ios