drawing
- Museum number
- 1990,1029,0.6
- Description
-
Ink and wash drawing on European paper of the family of Śiva carried in procession. The first two palanquins show the images of Gaṇeśa and Subrahmanya and their consorts. Led by a man carrying the chhattra (parasol), the third and last palanquin carries Śiva and Pārvatī seated against a bolster, on a throne surrounded by a prabhavali (ornamental arch). Śiva carries in his upper right hand the mriga (gazelle) and in his upper left the damaru (hourglass shaped drum), while his lower right hand is in abhaya and the left in varada mudra. The throne rests at the front on the shoulders of the kneeling Nandíkesvara, supported at the rear by an elegantly shaped slender wooden column. The huge four-armed Nandíkesvara, armed with sword and buckler, dwarfs the divine couple. Flanking the palanquin are torchbearers carrying three- and six-armed torches and assistants with floral wreaths, trays of fruit, oil flasks and ritual objects.
- Production date
- 1820-1830 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 36.10 centimetres
-
Width: 21.30 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- Dallapiccola 2010:
This painting is from a set of twelve drawings (1990,1029,0.1–7 and 2005,0112,0.1–5) executed in ink and wash on European paper backed on to a page of Persian text. They are originally part of a larger series depicting festivals and ceremonies in the two great sacred complexes sited on Srirangam island: the Shri Ranganatha temple and the Shri Jambukeshvara temple. At some point the set has been split up and the drawings have entered the museum on two separate occasions, in 1990 and 2005. The set focuses on both Vaishnava and Saivite celebrations. This series of drawings reveals the artist’s mastery of the medium and keen eye for detail. With a few strokes of the pen, he was able to evoke the bustle and excitement of a procession, a temple visit or ceremony. The immediacy and liveliness of the figures are unparalleled.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1990
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1990,1029,0.6
