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Lot Essay
This fragment was part of a narrative scroll used during performances recounting the tales of Bhavana, the mythical primogenitor of the Padmasalis, a sub-caste of weavers.
These large cloth panels would be unrolled in rhythm with the narrator’s story and the musician accompanying him. Each story, composed of many episodes, had a particular narrative and iconography directed to a specific caste. The handling and the climate meant the large pictorial screens were kept only for a limited period of time. Once used, the panels would be copied by a master painter before being ritually cremated, their ashes scattered in a river (Dallapiccola, A. L, South Indian Paintings, a Catalogue of the British Museum Collection, Ahmedabad 2010). For a related panel dated late 18th or early 19th century, see Dallapiccola, A. L, op.cit. 2010, cat. 23, p. 231.
Another fragment of this scroll sold at Christie's South Kensington, 22 April 2016, lot 604.
These large cloth panels would be unrolled in rhythm with the narrator’s story and the musician accompanying him. Each story, composed of many episodes, had a particular narrative and iconography directed to a specific caste. The handling and the climate meant the large pictorial screens were kept only for a limited period of time. Once used, the panels would be copied by a master painter before being ritually cremated, their ashes scattered in a river (Dallapiccola, A. L, South Indian Paintings, a Catalogue of the British Museum Collection, Ahmedabad 2010). For a related panel dated late 18th or early 19th century, see Dallapiccola, A. L, op.cit. 2010, cat. 23, p. 231.
Another fragment of this scroll sold at Christie's South Kensington, 22 April 2016, lot 604.