Creative Commons License
Embracing Lovers with Sparklers
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
Lovers dance in an affectionate embrace, the darkness broken by the illumination of hand-held fireworks. Fireworks have long been very popular in India, especially during Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, which celebrates the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Diwali generally occurs in October or November.
The sparks from the fireworks cascading to the ground are ingeniously rendered through the use of reflective gold and silver paint, now tarnished. This painting was probably bound in an album. Imagine viewing it by candlelight: upon turning the page, the sparks would have seemed to actually flicker, bringing the image to life
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; given to Walters Art Museum, 2001.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 7/28/2017 | Examination | examined for exhibition; examined for technical study |
Geographies
India, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 7 1/4 x W: 4 1/2 in. (18.4 x 11.4 cm); Framed H: 20 1/8 × W: 15 3/16 × D: 1 1/4 in. (51.12 × 38.58 × 3.18 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2001
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.
W.870