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Painting

circa 1880 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This folio is a fine example of illustrated manuscript art from Orissa, eastern India. With the text incised on palm-leaf, it illustrates scenes from an Oriyan poem, the ‘Lavannyavati’. A colophon indicates that this edition was created for the Subudhi family, who were Orissan merchants.

The scene here depicts a woman devotee taking ‘darsana’ before the linga ([phallic symbol of Shiva) in a temple sanctuary, freshly decorated with flowers. A sculpture of Nandi faces the sanctuary, which is surmounted by a tapering tower (‘sikhara’) in the Orissan style of medieval temple architecture.

The oldest manuscripts produced in India were written or incised on birch-bark or palm-leaf. Long after paper became available, palm-leaf continued to be used for religious texts, especially in southern India. Indeed, paper manuscripts often followed the ‘landscape’ format of the palm-leaf rather than the vertical ‘codex’ form. Texts were either written directly onto the treated palm-leaf in ink, or incised with a metal stylus. They were highlighted by a soot solution rubbed into the incised surface.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Palm leaf, incised and coloured
Brief description
Folio from a lavanyavati manuscript, palm leaf incised and coloured, orissa, eastern india, circa 1880
Physical description
Palm-leaf page from an illustrated version of the Orissan poem 'Lavanyavati'. On the right, a nobleman sits under an awning smoking a huqqa, with a petitioner before him. An empty palanquin waits outside. Flowering trees separate pairs of figures, the first one mounted and the others standing. The design is incised on the palm-leaf and then blackened with soot; small areas of red pigment are also added.
Dimensions
  • Length: 4.8cm
  • Width: 40.6cm
Object history
This manuscript was created for the Subudhi family of merchants in Orissa.
Production
Ganjam District, Orissa, south India
Literary referenceLavanyavati
Summary
This folio is a fine example of illustrated manuscript art from Orissa, eastern India. With the text incised on palm-leaf, it illustrates scenes from an Oriyan poem, the ‘Lavannyavati’. A colophon indicates that this edition was created for the Subudhi family, who were Orissan merchants.

The scene here depicts a woman devotee taking ‘darsana’ before the linga ([phallic symbol of Shiva) in a temple sanctuary, freshly decorated with flowers. A sculpture of Nandi faces the sanctuary, which is surmounted by a tapering tower (‘sikhara’) in the Orissan style of medieval temple architecture.

The oldest manuscripts produced in India were written or incised on birch-bark or palm-leaf. Long after paper became available, palm-leaf continued to be used for religious texts, especially in southern India. Indeed, paper manuscripts often followed the ‘landscape’ format of the palm-leaf rather than the vertical ‘codex’ form. Texts were either written directly onto the treated palm-leaf in ink, or incised with a metal stylus. They were highlighted by a soot solution rubbed into the incised surface.
Bibliographic references
  • Guy, John: 'Indian Temple Sculpture', London V & A Publication, 2007, p.84. pl.93. ISBN 971851775095
  • L'escultura en el temples indis : l'art de la devoció : exposició organitzada per la Fundació "La Caixa" i el Victoria & Albert Museum, Londres. [Barcelona: Obra social, Fundació "la Caixa", c2007 Number: 9788476649466 pp.95, 101, fig.50, Cat.54
Collection
Accession number
IS.157-1993

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Record createdJuly 28, 2003
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