AN ILLUSTRATION FROM THE SUNDARA KANDA OF A RAMAYANA SERIES: HANUMAN SETTING FIRE TO RAVANA’S CITADEL, LANKA
North-Western India, late 18th century

Opaque pigments, and black and red ink on laid paper, depicting a renowned passage of the Sundara Kanda, the heart of Valmiki's Ramayana including vivid accounts of Hanuman’s adventures, the horizontal composition illustrating Hanuman’s escape scene from Lanka leaping from roof to roof and setting fire to the evil King Ravana’s citadel, his tail still shown on fire, the Hindu god caught in the act of making a giant leap outside the fortified walls whilst checking the scene behind him, the setting and character accompanied by identifying black ink Devanagari captions, set within black, red and yellow rules, the verso with 15ll. of black and red ink Devanagari script to the page, and two further illustrations, one of the citadel and the latter of Hanuman in the wilderness, mounted, the folio 21.5cm x 34cm.