Hanuman, Rama and Sita thumbnail 1
Hanuman, Rama and Sita thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Hanuman, Rama and Sita

Painting
ca. 1830 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Painting, opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper, Hanuman revealing Rama and Sita enshrined in his heart. Hanuman is painted in trademark Kalighat style, as a monkey with human facial features including pointed chin and whiskery moustache, and nearly always with a blue body and black hands, feet, face and tail tip. Personal adornments of necklaces, hair and ear ornaments are painted in tin alloy.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleHanuman, Rama and Sita (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper
Brief description
Painting, Hanuman with Rama and Sita in his heart, opaque watercolour on paper, Kalighat, Kolkata, ca. 1830
Physical description
Painting, opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper, Hanuman revealing Rama and Sita enshrined in his heart. Hanuman is painted in trademark Kalighat style, as a monkey with human facial features including pointed chin and whiskery moustache, and nearly always with a blue body and black hands, feet, face and tail tip. Personal adornments of necklaces, hair and ear ornaments are painted in tin alloy.
Dimensions
  • Height: 432mm
  • Width: 275mm (maximum)
31/07/13 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013; object irregular in shape
Content description
Hanuman revealing Rama and Sita enshrined in his heart. Hanuman is painted in trademark Kalighat style, as a monkey with human facial features including pointed chin and whiskery moustache, and nearly always with a blue body and black hands, feet, face and tail tip.
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Hanuman the man monkey concealing Rama and Sita in his heart.
Object history
Historical significance: Calcutta was the capital of British India from 1833-1912. By the 1830s, artists had arrived in Calcutta from rural villages in Bengal and began to produce paintings that reflected the local history, mythology, customs and conflicts of a colonised society. As a popular art form, these artists are recognised for their use of brilliant colour, simplified images and swift brushstrokes that became the hallmark of Kalighat painting in the 19th and early 20th century.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Archer, W.G (1971) Kalighat Painting, A Catalogue and Introduction, HMSO.
  • 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. 59
  • Archer, W.G., Bazaar Paintings of Calcutta, Victoria & Albert Museum, H.M.S.O., 1955 p. 18, no. 5, p. 21, p. 33, pl. 5
Collection
Accession number
IS.199-1950

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Record createdDecember 18, 2002
Record URL
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