Object Details
- School/Tradition
- Folk/Popular school
- Label
- The nineteenth-century chitrakathis or picture storytellers of Maharashtra in western India held paintings such as these aloft while they sang the great Indian epics to popular audiences. The style, known as Paithan, is characterized by freely drawn calligraphic contours and tapestry-like patterns of skillfully integrated figures and landscape elements. Although their style is traditional, the pictures are painted on the inexpensive European paper extensively used in nineteenth-century Maharashtra.
- This lively painting from a regional retelling of the epic Mahabharata (Great tale of the Bharatas), illustrates the young hero Abhimanyu hunting tiger, boar, porcupine, and hare as his mother Subhadra watches. Freely splashed washes of red paint indicate the slain animals' blood.
- Provenance
- ?-1990
- Michael and Henrietta Spink, Ltd. (established 1988), London, England, method of acquisition unknown [1]
- From 1990
- Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchased from Michael and Henrietta Spink, Ltd. [2]
- Notes:
- [1] See “Custody Receipt,” dated October 24, 1990, copy in object file. The object was transferred from Michael and Henrietta Spink, Ltd. to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery for acquisition consideration on October 24, 1990.
- See invoice from Michael and Henrietta Spink, Ltd. issued by Michael C. Spink, dated November 6, 1990, copy in object file. Object is described as “A double sided page from a Ramayana, one side depicting an archer shooting at a tiger and a boar, the other with a swordsman addressing a monkey and a lady, with a chariot behind him.”
- Michael and Henrietta Spink, Ltd. (established 1988), in London, England is a dealer of Indian and Islamic works of art, including sculptures, Indian miniature paintings, drawings, ceramics, textiles, and weapons.
- [2] See Arthur M. Sackler, “Acquisition Consideration Form,” approved ca. late October 1990 or November 1990, copy in object file. Object is described as “Scenes from the Ramayana.”
- Research updated July 24, 2023
- Collection
- National Museum of Asian Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Changing Tastes: Indian Paintings of the 18th and 19th Century (December 17, 2000 to July 15, 2001)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Michael and Henrietta Spink, Ltd. (established 1988)
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds
- ca. 1885
- Accession Number
- S1990.73
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (overall): 30.7 x 42.7 cm (12 1/16 x 16 13/16 in)
- Origin
- Maharashtra state, India
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Topic
- tiger
- hunting
- boar
- horse
- Mahabharata
- Rama
- bow
- India
- Lakshmana
- shield
- Surpanakha
- South Asian and Himalayan Art
- Record ID
- fsg_S1990.73
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye39821268e-6365-49f2-89cc-33325f7bc970
