Churning of the Sea of Milk

1730-40

The crux of this story concerns two rival gods and demigods, the devas and the asuras, who churn the sea using a mountain peak and a snake to extract amrita (the elixir of life), which bestows immortality and higher knowledge. In the process, other gems and treasures appear, at the top of this painting, including the wish-granting cow and the divine flowering tree. This standard iconography comes from the Bhagavata Purana, a subsection of the Mahabharata, a major Sanskrit epic that revolves around two warring families. While the icons and framework of this story might have varying degrees of familiarity to viewers, this picture invites you to ruminate on the emergence of divine nectar and celestial life.

Watercolor on paper

8 7/16 x 6 1/4 in. (21.5 x 15.8 cm)

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Sherman Lee

52.141

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Art of Greater India, 1950.

San Francisco, California, San Francisco Museum of Art, Art in Asia and the West, 1957.

Gainesville, Florida, University of Florida Gallery, Miniatures and Small Sculptures From India, 1966.

Tacoma, Washington, Pacific Lutheran University, 1969.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Luminous: The Art of Asia, Oct. 13, 2011 - Jan. 8, 2012.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view July 16 - Dec. 5, 2021].

Published ReferencesTrubner, Henry. "The Art of Greater India." Los Angeles County Museum, (1950), no. 121, pp. 70-71

Ross, Nancy Wilson. "Three Ways of Asian Wisdom," (1966), p. 47, pl. 38

Trubner, Henry, and Wm. Jay Rathbun, Catherine A. Kaputa. "Asiatic Art in the Seattle Art Museum." Seattle Art Museum, (1973), no. 47, p. 117

Archer, W. G. and Edwin Binney III. "Rajput Miniatures from the Collecion of Edwin Binney 3rd." Portland Art Museum, (1968), no. 74, pp. 96-97

Leach, Linda York. "Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings." The Cleveland Museum of Art, Indiana University Press, (1986), no. 108, pp. 268-269

Poster, Amy G. with Sheila R. Canby, Pramod Chandra and Joan M. Cummins. "Realms of Heroism: Indian Paintings at the Brooklyn Museum." New York: Hudson Hills Press, (1994), pp. 242-243

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