A SMALL ILLUSTRATION FROM A RAMAYANA SERIES: ENTHRONED RAMA AND SITA
Kangra, Pahari School, Northern India, ca. 1840 - 1860

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the miniature-like horizontal composition depicting a Ram Durbar scene traditionally associated with the final kanda (section) of Valmiki's Ramayana epic, when Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya and are welcomed as the rightful King and Queen, the couple portrayed on a lotus throne, Rama holding his main lakshanas, the bow and arrow, behind them Rama's brother, Lakshmana, holding a white yak's tail flywhisk, in front of them more supporters, including a monkey, possibly representing either Hanuman or Sugriva holding a lotus flower, a sign of purity in the Hindu tradition, set within white rules and a typical Pahari Kangra decorative border with gold and white floral sprays on a dark blue ground, the reverse with a single line of black ink Devanagari script reading Lanka Jin Ram Sae, mounted, glazed, and framed, the painting 8.5cm x 14.2cm, 32.8cm x 45cm including the frame.

Provenance: previously in the private UK collection of Dr. Raghunandan Gaind, who purchased it at Sotheby's London in the early 1980s.