Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Relief panel

Relief Panel
17th century-18th Century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This terracotta relief panel would originally been made for the exterior of a Hindu temple in Bengal. The dramatically executed scene is from the Ramayana, the great Hindu epic which tells the story of Rama, an incarnation of the god Vishnu. In the centre is the ten-headed demon, Ravana, who has abducted Sita, Rama's wife, and carried her off to his island fortress, Lanka. Ravana stands on a chariot and is accompanied by two demonic warriors. They are fighting Hanuman, the monkey god, shown top left, who was Rama's staunch ally. Hanuman went to Lanka and made contact with Sita before attacking the demons and fighting fiercely with them. After eventually allowing himself to be captured in order to meet Ravana, his tail was set on fire. However, he escaped, and set fire to the city.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleRelief panel (Generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved Terracotta
Brief description
Terracotta relief panel depicting Hanuman in combat with Ravana. Produced 17th-18th century in Bengal, Eastern India.
Physical description
Ravana rides a chariot attended by two rakshasas (demons) in battle with a vānara (monkey), possibly Hanuman. Ravana, who has ten heads, is standing on the chariot, which has a figurehead in the form of a makara or mythological water creature.
The panel is from the exterior of a Hindu temple.
Dimensions
  • Height: 22cm
  • Width: 29.7cm
  • Depth: 7.8cm
Object history
Purchased from Sothebys & Co. in 1964.
Production
Bengal
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceRamayana
Summary
This terracotta relief panel would originally been made for the exterior of a Hindu temple in Bengal. The dramatically executed scene is from the Ramayana, the great Hindu epic which tells the story of Rama, an incarnation of the god Vishnu. In the centre is the ten-headed demon, Ravana, who has abducted Sita, Rama's wife, and carried her off to his island fortress, Lanka. Ravana stands on a chariot and is accompanied by two demonic warriors. They are fighting Hanuman, the monkey god, shown top left, who was Rama's staunch ally. Hanuman went to Lanka and made contact with Sita before attacking the demons and fighting fiercely with them. After eventually allowing himself to be captured in order to meet Ravana, his tail was set on fire. However, he escaped, and set fire to the city.
Bibliographic reference
Arts of Bengal : the heritage of Bangladesh and eastern India : an exhibition organized by the Whitechapel Art Gallery in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum : 9 November-30 December 1979, Whitechapel Art Gallery ..., 12 January-17 February 1980, Manchester City Art Gallery ... . [London]: Whitechapel Art Gallery, [1979] Number: 085488047X (pbk.) : p.32
Collection
Accession number
IS.162-1964

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Record createdApril 11, 2002
Record URL
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