AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A RAMAYANA SERIES: SITA'S FIRE ORDEAL
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION
Possibly Jammu, Punjab Hills, Northern India, 19th century

Opaque pigments heightened with silver and gold on paper, the vertical composition depicting Rama seated on a throne under a golden, encrusted and caparisoned parasol, his brother Lakshmana standing next to him with a peacock's feather whisk, members of Sugriva's court sitting next to the throne, all looking at Rama's wife, Sita, performing her fire ordeal to regain Rama's trust and honour after being held captive by the demonic king of Lanka, Ravana, the enemy's army depicted bleeding to death and defeated in the foreground, the scene set within white rules and dark blue borders, mounted, glazed and framed, 42cm x 33cm including the frame.