Nature Supernatural at the Cleveland Museum of Art

 

A floral fantasy of animals and birds (Waq-waq), early 1600s. Mughal India. Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 37.6 x 26.6 cm (14 13/16 x 10 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.319

 
 

Nature Supernatural

September 22, 2023 — March 3, 2024

 

Trees and other plants endowed with supernatural qualities have a long history in the visual culture and literature of India. Throughout the South Asian subcontinent, many populations recognize the power of divinities who personify the life-giving forces of nature to confer gifts of abundance: food, wealth, and children. In art, an image of a woman or goddess of child-bearing age could visually signal the same ideal as do depictions of trees or other types of vegetation bearing fruits and flowers. This ideal is auspiciousness, which refers to the success and good fortune brought by entities that give and support life. Filling spaces with vegetal imagery communicates plenitude and auspiciousness, which, in turn, are considered visually beautiful. 

In paintings, textiles, and jewelry, images of supernatural plants mark the presence of magic associated with powers of nature. Individual flowers also connote specific concepts to the knowledgeable viewer. The lotus, a water flower, signals birth, creation, preservation, and transcendence. Narcissus, which blooms in early spring, references mystical renewal or rebirth. Roses are used in the context of love and fidelity.  

Talking trees, animal-bearing plants, and other supernatural aspects of nature feature in stories that circulated among travelers across land and sea routes connecting India with the greater Islamic world. The works in this gallery reveal how extraordinary vegetative imagery resonated internationally and across religious and social divides.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Exhibition Preview

 

Dragon in foliage with lion and phoenix heads, mid-1500s. Attributed to Sahkulu (Turkish, active 1526–56). Ink, gum tempera, and gold on paper; sheet: 17.3 x 40.2 cm (6 13/16 x 15 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1944.492

Inkstand, 1800s. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Jaipur. Gold, silver, and enamel; overall: 8.3 cm (3 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1916.439

Vishnu on Ananta, the Endless Serpent, c. 1700. Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Region, Rajput Kingdom of Chamba. Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 17.8 x 17.6 cm (7 x 6 15/16 in.); image: 17.1 x 16.7 cm (6 3/4 x 6 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.155

Box decorated with Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, and Ganesa, c. 1800. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Jaipur. Gold with enamel; overall: 4.5 x 6.3 cm (1 3/4 x 2 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin 1989.353

Woolen carpet with millefleurs decoration, early 1600s. India, Kashmir. Pashmina (wool): asymmetrical knot; average: 292.7 x 248.9 cm (115 1/4 x 98 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dudley P. Allen Fund 1936.17

Illuminated folio (recto) from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291), calligraphy: c. 1475–1500; border: c. 1550. Calligraphy by Sultan 'Ali al-Mashadi (Iranian, 1430–1520). Gum tempera, ink, gold, and silver on paper; overall: 30 x 19 cm (11 13/16 x 7 1/2 in.); text area: 16.3 x 9.8 cm (6 7/16 x 3 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William Kelly Simpson in memory of his wife Marilyn M. Simpson and her grandparents Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 2006.147.a

Locket, 1700s. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Jaipur. Gold and enamel; case: 3.1 x 3.5 cm (1 1/4 x 1 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Twentieth Century Club 1960.198

A floral fantasy of animals and birds (Waq-waq), early 1600s. Mughal India. Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 37.6 x 26.6 cm (14 13/16 x 10 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.319

Markandeya Viewing Krishna in the Cosmic Ocean, c. 1680. Northern India, Jammu and Kashmir, Pahari Kingdom of Basohli. Gum tempera on paper; image: 15.2 x 10 cm (6 x 3 15/16 in.); overall: 20.5 x 15 cm (8 1/16 x 5 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Sherman E. Lee 1967.241

A female figure standing in a landscape holding a four-stringed “khuuchir” and a lotus, c. 1590. Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605). Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 31.6 x 20.7 cm (12 7/16 x 8 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.311

Pendant with Matsya (fish incarnation of Vishnu) defeating Hayagriva, 1800s. Northwestern India, Rajasthan Pratapgarh. Gold, enamel, emeralds, and pearls; overall: 11.8 x 5.8 cm (4 5/8 x 2 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1916.119

Vase with flower arrangement and scrollwork, c. 1750–1800. Mughal India, Lucknow. Gum tempera and gold on paper; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.354

Page from the Late Shah Jahan Album: Persian Calligraphy framed by an ornamental border of flowers, birds, and deer, calligraphy: c. 1500–1540; border: c. 1630–40. Mir 'Ali Haravi (Persian, active in Herat, Afghanistan, died c. 1550). Gum tempera, gold, and ink on paper; overall: 36.8 x 25.2 cm (14 1/2 x 9 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Herbert F. Leisy in memory of his wife, Helen Stamp Leisy 1977.207

Zulaykha in her palace and as an elderly woman with Joseph (recto), from a Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al- Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492), 1603–7. Mushfiq (Indian, active early 1600s), Sultan 'Ali al-Mashadi (Iranian, 1430–1520). Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; text area: 17.8 x 9.5 cm (7 x 3 3/4 in.); page: 31.6 x 20.4 cm (12 7/16 x 8 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.315.1.a

Sacrificial Fire, from the "Tula Ram" Bhagavata Purana, c. 1720. Western India, Gujarat, Surat. Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; overall: 25.4 x 21.5 cm (10 x 8 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of John D. Proctor 1990.40

Still Life: Bouquet of Flowers Emerging from the Grass, c. 1750. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bundi. Gum tempera on paper; page: 32.4 x 23.5 cm (12 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.); miniature: 29.8 x 21.6 cm (11 3/4 x 8 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.161 Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

 
News 14, Exhibitions 3Editorial TeamArt of the Ancestors, Steven G. Alpert, Asian Art, Island Southeast Asian Art, Oceanic Art, Asiatica, Ethnographica, Ethnographic Art, Art Collection, Fine Art, Primitive Art, Indonesian Art, Tribal Art, Eyes of the Ancestors, Dr. Reimar Schefold