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.
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 |
|
Object history | This manuscript was created for the Subudhi family of merchants in Orissa. |
Production | Ganjam District, Orissa, south India |
Literary reference | Lavanyavati |
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 |
|
Collection | |
Accession number | IS.157-1993 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | July 28, 2003 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest