Ganesha transcribing the Mahabharata (Shri Shri Ganesh)

The elephant-headed deity Ganesha sits cross-legged on a patterned carpet, a quill in his trunk-side hand as he writes on an open page. An inkpot and a red cloth bundle rest nearby, and a tall pillar stands behind him in a muted blue-green setting. The hand-colored lithograph has bold outlines and soft watercolor tones.

Look closer: A small signature or cartouche appears in the lower right corner of the print.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1878–83

Medium

Lithograph with watercolor on paper

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2910 × 3643 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2021