Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Cosmic Vishnu as Infant Krishna
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
Though he may appear as a mere child playfully sucking on his toes, Krishna is in fact an incarnation of the powerful god Vishnu. This devotional image portrays a vision the sage Markandeya once had, when he saw the infant lying on a banyan leaf floating in the cosmic ocean. When Krishna revealed his true form, it was the all-pervading Vishnu, resting on the primordial waters between cosmic eras, when he gives rise to the re-creation of the universe.
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.
Hartman Gallery, New York; purchased by E. C. O'Dell, Baltimore, 1955; inherited by John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, March 1981; given to Walters Art Museum, 2010.
Exhibitions
| 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. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 11/7/2014 | Examination | examined for exhibition |
Geographies
India, Tamil Nadu (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 1/4 × W: 7 1/4 × D: 4 3/8 in. (8.3 × 18.4 × 11.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2010
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
54.3081