Rama and Sita in the royal palace (recto), from a Kalighat album

Cleveland Museum of Art

Rama and Sita in the royal palace (recto), from a Kalighat album

Shri Gobinda Chandra RoyLinkedCulture matchlcp-08d1993023f6

Date
c. 1890
Medium
Woodcut, hand colored with gum tempera
Culture
Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID
162515

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

The finale of the Ramayana presents Rama and Sita enthroned as the rightful rulers of the kingdom of Ayodhya. They are surrounded by Rama’s brothers, their loyal monkey allies, sages, and nobles. The balanced, symmetrical composition evokes the peace and stability that Rama’s millennia-long reign will bring to the kingdom. The artist has anachronistically set the scene in an 1800s Calcutta mansion, complete with glass sconces and lamps hanging from the ceiling. Since Calcutta (now Kolkata) was the epicenter of British colonial power, this imagery suggests a desire to reinstate Hindu rulership over India. Rama's devoted monkey followers Hanuman and Sugriva are seated before the throne.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line
Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward
Provenance
?–2003: William E. Ward [1922–2004], Solon, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 2003–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

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