Though born near Boston, the 19th-century painter Edwin Lord Weeks became best known for his canvases of life in what were then considered exotic lands, such as Egypt and Morocco.

One of Weeks' monumental paintings of India -- it's nearly 10 feet wide and 7 feet high -- has come to Richmond to stay. "The Hour of Prayer at Moti Mushid (The Pearl Mosque), Agra," which Weeks painted around 1888 or 1889, is among the newest acquisitions of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

One of the most celebrated Orientalist painters of his day, Weeks enhanced his reputation with five massive works depicting life in India, including "The Hour of Prayer." The painting was awarded a medal when it was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1889, and after Weeks' death has been owned only by the Brooklyn Museum of Art and a single private collector.

The Virginia Museum exhibited it in 1990. It is still in its original frame, which was created by Weeks' associate, Lockwood de Forest. It was purchased with funds from the J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art.

Also recently acquired is a 10th-century stone sculpture from what is now Bangladesh, depicting Vishnu as his avatar Varaha, The Mighty Boar. In the 44-inch high gray stone relief, Varaha rescues the goddess Earth from drowning in the cosmic ocean by lifting her on his tusks. It was purchased with funds from the Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund.

Among the other acquisitions are an 1878 fireplace surround made of hand-crafted ceramic tiles by American artist Edwin Austin Abbey, purchased with funds from the Cochrane Fund; an 1823 oil painting showing an event in Napoleon's 1808 invasion of Spain and the subsequent ending of the Inquisition, purchased from the revolving art purchase fund; and an 1877 oil-on-board painting of Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County by Jervis McEntee, purchased through the John Barton Payne Fund.

In addition, the museum added to its substantial art nouveau collection with textiles created by three European artists, purchased with funds from the Swenson Fund for Art Nouveau; a 1904 oil painting by Henry Prellwitz, "Lotus and Laurel," which won a silver medal at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis; and "Construction No. 5," a 1958 oil-on-canvas painting by Ralston Crawford, given in part by the artist's son and purchased in part with funds from the Floyd A. and Anne C. Gottwald Fund.

Finally, the museum has acquired a page from an Indian illustrated manuscript of the Bhagavata Purana from around 1760, purchased with funds from Don Dale and the Kathleen Boone Samuels Memorial Fund; a page in watercolor and gold depicting a scene from the Ramayana, created in India around 1800 and purchased with funds from the Friends of Indian Art and the Williams Fund; and a wisdom basket to hold royal charms, made in the 19th or 20th centuries by members of the Kuba culture in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, purchased with funds from the Williams Fund.