AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A RAMAYANA SERIES: THE SIEGE OF LANKA
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION
Possibly Bundi, Rajasthan, or Northern India, ca. 1800 - 1820

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the vertical composition depicting the hero of the Ramayana epic, Rama, seated on a lotus throne under a caparisoned golden parasol shooting an arrow in the direction of Ravana's fortified palace in Lanka, the multi-headed and multi-armed evil King shown seated on a throne under a red palanquin being revered by his courtiers, Sita seated nearby with a worried look, outside the palace the vast army of Rama surrounding the hero and standing in a moment of stasis, holding their breath for the start of the battle, set within black rules and pasted onto a later cardboard mount with red borders and a gilt and plasticised black back, accompanied by an old hand-written and typed attribution note, 26.5cm x 19.7cm.