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Not currently on display at the V&A

Painting

ca. 1855 - ca. 1860 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Kolkata (made)

Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, depicting the ten-headed demon Ravana and Sita in a chariot held in the beak of the bird Jatayu, king of the vultures. Episode from the Ramayana.


Object details

Categories
Paintings
Hinduism
Religion
Bonita Trust Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project
SCRAN
Object type
Painting
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour on paper
Opaque Watercolour
Paper
Paint
Painted
Brief description
Painting, Ravana and Sita sitting in the beak of Jatayu, opaque watercolour on paper, Kalighat, Kolkata, ca. 1855-1860
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, depicting the ten-headed demon Ravana and Sita in a chariot held in the beak of the bird Jatayu, king of the vultures. Episode from the Ramayana.
Dimensions
  • Height: 430mm (maximum)
  • Width: 278mm (maximum)
  • Cardboard mount onto which object attached height: 535mm (approx.)
  • Cardboard mount onto which object attached width: 380mm (approx.)
15/05/2013 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013; object irregular in shape.
Content description
Ravana and Sita in a chariot held in the beak of the bird Jatayu, king of the vultures.
Style
Kalighat
Credit line
Given by Rudyard Kipling Esq., Bateman's, Burwash, Sussex
Object history
Jatayu was the king of vultures and a great devotee of Rama. When Ravana abducted Sita and carried her off the flying chariot, Jatayu engaged him in aerial battle to rescue her. Unsuccessful, he fell to earth, mortally wounded. It was from Jatayu that Rama found out about his wife's fate.

From the Lockwood Kipling Collection
Subjects depicted
Deities
Demon
Vulture
Ravana
Sita
Jatayu
Literary referenceRamayana
Bibliographic reference
Sinha, Suhashini, and Panda, C, eds. Kalighat Paintings from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2012. ISBN 1851776656. p. 57
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IM.2:72-1917

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Record createdNovember 11, 2002
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O69834/painting-unknown/
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