Object of the week: The diplomat & the dodo
Thomas Herbert’s best-selling 17th-century travelogue details an enchanting encounter with a dodo, only years before the bird went extinct
Birds
Kukkuta Jataka
An artist’s interpretation of Kukkuta Jataka, a tale from the Buddhist Jataka fables inspired by the life of Gautama. In Kukkuta Jataka, Gautama takes life as a rooster. A cat that wants to eat the bird offers to become his wife first. The plot fails, and the bird is later revealed to be a Bodhisattva.… Read more »
Gond: A Collective of Birds
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 »
Mithila: Two Peacocks
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 Cross
In this painting, the artist depicts Jesus crucified in a traditional folkish set-up. Two goats look up at the cross, while architectural elements of what look like churches already seem to emerge in the backdrop. Madhvi Parekh got much of her exposure to art from her husband Manu Parekh who studied at the J.J. School… Read more »
Ganga Singh, Silver, One Paisa
This is a silver coin issued by the state of Bikaner under Ganga Singh, the Maharaja of the Princely State of Bikaner from 1888 to 1934. On the obverse is a mustachioed portrait of the king, with a turban worn in the Bikaneri style. Around the portrait is inscribed “Mahadhiraj Rajshri Ganga Singh Bahadur” in… Read more »