AntiqueGlass Painting of a Peacock, India, H: 16″ 

Description

This joyous framed glass painting of a Peacock was once inset as a front panel along with the glass Krishna Playing his Flute (3982MCE) in a highly decorative antique Indian cabinet. Painted in rich colors highlighted with shining reflective silver accents, it is framed in a vintage style frame with gold accents.Peacocks have a long history in India, omnipresent in Indian art and monuments and have been proclaimed the national bird of India. They are part of Hindu epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Rigveda, India’s oldest sacred Sanskrit text. A Sanskrit verse claims “The gorgeous peacock is the glory of God.” Peacocks are intertwined with many Hindu deities: they are vehicles (vahana) of Kartikeya the Hindu god of war, and Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and music and appeared when Indra the god of rain, thunder, and lightning, fought the demon-king Ramana. Peacocks were so enchanted by Krishna’s flute-playing they laid their feathers before him, and he pledged to wear them in his crown forever. Peacocks are one of the most popular motifs for rangoli (ornate round floor art designs made of  sand, flour or flower petals for the Hindu fall Diwali festival to welcome Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, into households.

Click to view the VA Instagram post on the Peacock Glass Panel.