Artwork
Verti Ragini
Verti Ragini is a paint painting by the Baroque artist Unknown. It dates from 1700 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Verti Ragini is an opaque watercolor ragamala painting on paper that illustrates the musical mode Vairati Ragini. The composition presents two female figures—a principal woman and her attendant—seated in a tranquil outdoor setting beside a crouching tiger, against a backdrop of green fields and a blue sky dotted with clouds.
Subject & Meaning
The work visualizes the Vairati Ragini raga, a melodic framework in Indian classical music, by pairing human figures with a tiger, a common symbolic element in ragamala iconography. The presence of the attendant underscores themes of service and hierarchy within the narrative context of the raga.
Technique & Style
Executed in opaque watercolor, the painting achieves a luminous surface while maintaining fine detail in the figures’ garments and jewelry. The palette is vivid, featuring orange‑brown, yellow‑red, and deep greens, which together create a sense of spatial depth and tactile texture within the flat paper support.
History & Provenance
The piece entered the collection of British artist Michael Rothenstein before being acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1953 as part of the IS.46 to IS.73 group, for which the museum paid £300. Its accession reflects mid‑twentieth‑century interest in South Asian decorative arts.
Artist & collection
Domestic Scene
Giacomo and Cardinal Marco, investing Andrea, Abbot of San Zeno, with his Benefice
The Nymph of Fontainebleau
Portrait of a Woman
Madonna and Child with Saints in the Enclosed Garden
Venus and Minerva
Family Group of Four on Sofa
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
