Prishtha, Back of a Seat

This is the upper portion of the back rest of a Vaishnava preacher’s seat. It is a common practice in India for preachers to sit on low wooden stools with a straight and often carved back.

Its Vaishnava association is indicated by the motif of cowherd and cows with calf, a popular theme associated with the blue God, Krishna. After 15th century there was a phenomenal rise in Krishna bhakti (worship of Krishna) as a result of the preachings of Vallabhacharya, and Gujarat witnessed it on a large scale.

The two panels are beautifully carved with interwoven floral meanders and cows with suckling calf, peacock and a cowherd dressed like Krishna. A closer observation reveals the finesse with which various parts are joined to present a homogeneous design. The panels were evidently meant to be uniform but now show a few deviations some of these necessitated by later repairs.
In 17th century a style of painting developed around the secular theme of Krishna and his cowherds. Our panel compares well with this style and despite its rather rough carving, looks charming because of the subject and especially the cows.