A PAITHAN PAINTING DEPICTING A SCENE FROM A HINDU EPIC
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE GERMAN COLLECTION
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Central India, 18th - early 19th century

Opaque pigments and black ink on wove paper, the horizontal composition possibly depicting a scene from the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, illustrating the moment when the five Pandava brothers seek Krishna's help and advice to win the battle of the Kurukshetra, the Hindu god depicted in the form of Vishnu holding the deity's main attributes including the club, the quoit, and the conch shell, the first Pandava character, possibly Arjuna, portrayed as heavily bejewelled and of bigger size than the others to highlight his relevance in the unfolding of the narration, the other brothers behind him holding their bows and shields, mounted, glazed and framed, 34.5cm x 49cm including the frame.

Paithan paintings were created to illustrate scenes from the great Hindu epics, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, used in story-telling by itinerant bards. They frequently included in the original narration local characters and additional scenes. These paintings are characterised by monumental figures with large and bulging 'fish-eyes', painted in a palette of primary colours and highly stylised manner with a folkish quality. The link to the shadow-puppet tradition of Karnataka is undeniable.

For a long time, Paithan paintings were ascribed to Maharashtra, but scholars have recently discarded this attribution. It has instead been suggested that they are typical productions from Andhra Pradesh / Karnataka border areas and not - as was once thought - the town of Paithan (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x110508).

For a discussion on Paithan painting and the collection of sixty illustrations in the British Museum (2007,3014.1 to 60), please see A.L. Dallapiccola, South Indian Paintings – A Catalogue of the British Museum Collections, London, 2010, pp. 278-295. Groups of these paintings have recently performed very well at auction, please see Christie's New York, 21 - 28 September 2017, lot 644; and 20 March 2019, lot 709.