Museum objects, artifacts, and archival items from the Sarmaya collection.
The Bengal Pattachitra is a visual and oral art tradition practised by the Patuas or Chitrakars of West Bengal. They earn their livelihood by telling stories from Hindu Mythology, local folklores, Sufi tradition and contemporary themes through paintings and songs. The unfolding or playing of the Pata is called ‘Pat Khelano’, and the song through… Read more »
This is an Orissa Pattachitra detailing the Jagannath temple in Puri, along with other scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The pattachitra tradition is an indegenous artform of Orissa, where religious paintings are done on a canvas created with cotton cloth (called patta). The colours emploed are also natural – derived from various minerals… Read more »
This artwork is a Mithila painting of Shiva, Sati and her ten forms called the ‘Dasa Mahavidyas’ created by Mithila artist Poonam Devi. Madhubani or Mithila painting is part of the cultural identity of Bihar and Mithila, a historical region that folded in parts of present-day Nepal. Originally ritualistic murals done on the interior walls… Read more »
This is a pattachitra created by Akshaya Kumar Bariki, and dealing with the theme of Krishna Raas Lila. The centre of this painting depicts Krishna and Radha sitting under the Kadamba tree, being attended to by gopis. Around the main image are two circular registers occupied by figures of Krishna and the gopis dancing. The… Read more »
The Mithila or Madhubani painting tradition originated in Bihar, and is claimed to be around 1200 years old. It is primarily practiced by women, who used to create these works on the walls of their house interiors. It was only by chance in 1934, when a massive earthquake destroyed of the artists’ mud homes, that… Read more »
This composition showing a harvest is a Warli painting on a cow-dung-washed canvas by Jivya Soma Mashe (1934-2018). The artist depicts the harvesting season and its corresponding activities in this painting. Wagobha, the community’s tiger god, has a dedicated shrine in the composition’s bottom centre. For the Warli community, farming is a vital source of… Read more »
This is a Gond painting created in the tribal regions of Madhya Pradesh. A ritualistic mural tradition of the Gondi tribe, Gond paintings are done on paper with synthetic colours now. This image is created by Kaushal Prasad Tekam on paper. His signature style is creating a texture through using dashes in various tonalities of… Read more »
This is a Gond painting created in the tribal regions of Madhya Pradesh by Durga Bai in her signature style of small dashes, which replace continuous lines. It depicts two symmetrically placed deers, facing against each other and looking at a smaller animal, which look like blue foxes, on their backs. The stags have horns… Read more »
This image is created by Durga Bai shows three figures who look like Ganesha dancing with two elephants. The painting is monochromatic, and the artist has experimented with the execution style including a wavy pattern, apart from the traditional dashes and the dots. One of the three Ganeshas stands atop the composite trunk of two… Read more »
Warli painting, traditionally mural art, is practised by members of the Warli community residing in Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat. Warli art often depicts scenes and aspects from occupations such as agriculture, fishing, hunting, and significant occasions such as festivals, weddings, and births to commemorate the community’s culture and beliefs. Jivya Soma Mashe (1934-2018) was… Read more »
The Mithila or Madhubani painting tradition originated in Bihar, and is claimed to be around 1200 years old. It is primarily practiced by women, who used to create these works on the walls of their house interiors. Only a chance occasion n 1934 – a massive earthquake that led to the destruction of the mud… Read more »
The Mithila or Madhubani painting tradition originated in Bihar and is claimed to be around 1200 years old. It is primarily practiced by women, who used to create these works on the walls of their house interiors. Only a chance occasion n 1934 – a massive earthquake that led to the destruction of the mud… Read more »
The ‘phad’ is a tradition of narrative scroll paintings, practiced by the bhopa tribes of Rajasthan. They are primarily made of two icons – Devnarayan and Pabuji. These were village heroes in popular history who were later deified over time – much like the creation of icons in mainstream Hinduism as well. This particular one… Read more »
This is one of the interiors of Tipu Sultan’s summer palace situated in Seringapatnam called Dariya Daulat Bagh. The image shows a pillared collonade, and a double storied interior – a arched walkway surmounted by a balconied upper floor.
This Johnson and Henderson image shows the outer facade of one of the caves on the island of Elephant in Bombay. Originally called Gharapuri and identified as the capital of the Mauryas in the Konkan, the island is spread across two hillocks separated by a narrow valley and dotted with numerous archaeological remains going as… Read more »
This is an image from the larger album titled “The investiture of the Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia of Gwalior” – an event that was attended by various European guests and dignitaries. This image is of the king’s guests posing on the steps of the Sahasra Bahu Temple in Gwalior.
This is most likely a staged photograph of a European official flanked by his attendants. While one performs the role of the traditional chauri-bearer, waving a large bamboo hand fan, and another holds the base of an elbaorate hookah, a third standing figure on the left of the official seems to be bringing in official… Read more »
This is a Johnson and Henderson image showing the Dariya Daulat Bagh built by Tipu Sultan in his capital city of Seringapatnam, Karnataka. It is a low wooden structure with a collonaded porch around it, and was used by Tipu Sultan as his summer palace.
This is the Jami Masjid built in 1728 by Tipu Sultan in his capital of Seringapatnam. The mosque is characterised by two octagonal minarets that are double storied and crowned by domes.
The subjects of this photograph belong to the historic community of Jews in India known as ‘Bene Israel’. Dressed in traditional attire, they are teachers of the Free Church of Scotland’s Mission School and the Jewish English School in Bombay, British India. This photograph was originally published between 1855-1862 in Photographs of Western India, Volume I,… Read more »