AN ILLUSTRATION TO THE LANKA KANDA OF THE RAMAYANA: THE AWAKENING OF THE GIANT KUMBHAKARNA
Kangra or Guler, Pahari Hills, Northern India, late 19th - first quarter 20th century

Opaque pigments and gold on paper, the horizontal sub-sequential composition illustrating two scenes narrated in the Lanka Kanda of Valmiki's Ramayana, on the left the awoken giant asura Kumbhakarna holding a large golden pearl-studded mace and walking through the palace to the meeting hall to greet his older brother, the ten-headed King of Lanka Ravana depicted in the upper left corner, the scene on the right with Kumbhakarna in conversation with his army of demons, possibly delivering a last speech before setting off to fight Rama, Lakshmana and Sugriva's monkey army depicted under a tree on top of a mountain in the upper central portion of the painting, the composition set within golden rules and black borders, re-backed with ink-stained paper, mounted, glazed and framed, 23.5cm x 18.8cm excluding the frame.

The composition, built of sub-sequential scenes, and the specific subject of this painting are reminiscent of and possibly inspired by a well-known 1850 series produced in either Guler or Kangra focusing on the Lanka Kanda, in particular on the awakening and the appearance on the battle field of the asura Kumbhakarna. Two paintings of this series were successfully sold at auctions recently (Bonhams New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3095; and Christie's New York, The Collection of Paul Walter, 26 - 27 September 2017, lot 229). A third one is published in Court Paintings from Persia and India, Francesca Galloway, London 2016, p. 98, no. 36.

Dimensions: 23.5cm x 18.8cm excluding the frame