Ragamala: Music, Painting, and Manuscripts in Courtly India

Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, ragamalas (sets of paintings related to musical modes) were produced in great abundance at the major and minor courts of South Asia. The widespread patronage of these vividly illustrated manuscripts speaks to the prominent place of music and musical performance in the royal sphere, but it also points to the perceived mutuality between sound and image. This talk will offer an introduction to ragamalas, focusing in particular on their use for connoisseurial and courtly ends. 

Yael Rice is Assistant Professor of the History of Art & Asian Languages and Civilizations at Amherst College. She specializes in the manuscript and other portable arts of early modern Iran and South Asia.

A recommended talk for those attending the concert In the Footsteps of the Master.

Co-sponsored with History of Art & Asian Languages and Civilizations at Amherst College