Oral history passed down through the generations sometimes conflict with information gathered during a conservation treatment. The current owner supplied the following information: "My Grandmother's sister said that her father in law personally worked for Raja Ravi Varma and he definitely painted this picture."

Varma is credited with bringing about a momentous turn in the art of 19th century India and influenced future generations of artists. He was the first to cast the Indian gods and mythological characters in natural surroundings employing a style of European realism. Gradually, images of Gods and Goddesses became ubiquitous through mass oleo graphic reproductions affecting artistic style, form, and dress and then literature and later, the Indian film industry.

However, the "irregular" signature on the verso indicates that the painting was probably executed by M. Arumoogham Pillai from Trivandrum in 1891. Pillai is credited to have taught Ravi Varma how to paint. Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) is where Ravi Varma lived while learning to paint.

The famous Ramaswamy Naicker of Madura, recognized a potential rival in Varma and refused to teach him but his student, M. Arumugham Pillai would sneak into Moodath Madam at nightfall to share his knowledge with Varma. Thus the attribution to Pillai bears some consideration too.


Tape was applied to the front to repair a long tear. When removed in the past, it also removed paint from the sky.		A pressure sensitive tape is visible as orange patches.


Glue was used to apply sparkly decorations and pearls onto the headdress and other parts of the painting.		Part of the religious use of the painting included pressing burning incense onto the foreheads of the sacred beings.


Removal of additions, surface dirt, and discolored varnish.		Inpainting (retouches) of the losses recover the aesthetics.