Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Unable to open [object Object]: HTTP 0 attempting to load TileSource: https://ids.lib.harvard.edu/ids/iiif/500541171/info.json
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
This object does not yet have a description.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1973.171
Title
Hanuman Before Rama, Sita and Lakshmana (painting, recto), Illustration from a Ramayana Series
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
18th - 19th century
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan, Sirohi
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216326

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions
26 x 30.5 cm (10 1/4 x 12 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Kenneth Galbraith
Accession Year
1973
Object Number
1973.171
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Description
This painting depicts the blue-skinned Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, alongside his wife, Sita, seated on a throne. His brother, Lakshmana, who has dedicated his life to Rama, stands beside them with a peacock-feathered fly-whisk in his hand. The monkey-god Hanuman kneels before Rama and Sita, showing his intense devotion towards Rama. The figures are set within a floral landscape, matched by the floral designs which serve as borders for the painting.

This folio, possibly a frontispiece for a manuscript, may have belonged to the illustrated Ramayana series produced in Sirohi. This manuscript is notable for its vibrant blue background, achieved through the use of the pigment Prussian blue. While this painting does not have the characteristic Prussian blue background, stylistically the figures are rendered in a similar fashion to those from the series (for instance, Sita’s outfit bears resemblance to the outfits of females in the other Sirohi Ramayana folios). Other folios from the same manuscript in the Harvard Art Museums’ collections are 1973.164, 1973.165, 1973.166.A, 1973.166.B, 1973.167, 1973.168.A, 1973.168.B, 1973.169, 1973.170.A, 1973.170.B. Rajput, Rajasthani, Sirohi School.

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu