Handpainted – Pichwai – Cows on Magenta Beneath the Peacock Boats

Provenance

'Cows on Magenta Beneath the Peacock Boats' is a Pichwai painting in which the cow becomes the subject. Twenty cows face one another in pairs on a magenta field, in a pattern that recalls a woven textile, while two peacock-prowed boats float above with figures seated inside. It shows the Pichwai tradition at its most decorative.

The cows have cream bodies, orange hooves, black horns and silver neck chains, and are marked with red spots. They are arranged in five rows of four and face inwards. At the top, a silver moon is flanked by two boats with peacock heads and orange pennants, each carrying a seated couple with green halos. A yellow border scattered with blue and pink flowers and green leaves frames the whole painting.

Magenta, cream, yellow and a little blue and green make a bold, clear palette. The repetition of the cows gives the painting a calm, steady rhythm, and the small red dots on the ground add a gentle texture. It is a cheerful, graphic piece for a dining room or a hallway.