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Lot Essay
This painted narrative scroll, or pata-chitra, is an impressive example of the rich tradition of Deccani scroll painting. Our scroll dictates the genealogy of the Padmasali weaver community and tells of the feats of the celestial weaver Bhavana Rishi through the Markandeya Purana. Following an opening dedication to Ganesha and Vishnu and an introduction of Vaishnava worship, the scroll goes on to narrate the genealogy of the Padmasali weavers with Bhavana Rishi depicted throughout riding on his tiger and interacting with the gods. At the end of the story he defeats the demon Kalavesenudu and uses the body of the defeated demon to produce new dyes for the Padmasali weavers.
Such scrolls were used in the Deccan by itinerant story tellers and performers, called Patamuvaru, to narrate stories of particular castes - in this case the Padmasali weavers - in performances that could be narrated over four to seven days. Our scroll comes from Telangana. These scrolls differ from those of other regions because their focus is on the origins of their caste rather than just depicting episodes from Hindu mythology. The style of painting recalls the royal murals in Telangana and Andhra temples such as Lepakshi created for the rulers of Vijayanagara in the 15th and 16th centuries. Similar stylistic iconography can be found in an early scroll dated to 1625 painted in the Mahbubnagar district of Telangana in the Mittal Museum (published Stewart Cary Welch, India, Art and Culture from 1300-1900, New York, 1982, no.19, p. 51).
The work on surviving scrolls from the 17th through to the 20th century are remarkably consistent. In part this is because new scrolls were created as direct copies of earlier, weathered scrolls meaning that few painter families would exist simultaneously. According to Mittal, only ‘eight to ten families of painters lived in Telangana’ from the 17th to the 19th century (Jagdish Mittal, Deccani Scroll Paintings, Hyderabad, 2014, p.15). However Mittal records that since 1942 only one family of painters remains in Cherial.
Similar scrolls are in the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum (76.469) and British Museum (1996,0615,0.1). Fragmentary sections are in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1971-270-1) and Seattle Art Museum (76.41 and 76.42). A similar complete scroll from the John and Susan Huntington collection sold in Christie's New York, 21 September 2022, lot 438, whilst a 20th century scroll depicting the genealogy of the Dhobi caste sold in these Rooms, 24 May 2017, lot 96.
Such scrolls were used in the Deccan by itinerant story tellers and performers, called Patamuvaru, to narrate stories of particular castes - in this case the Padmasali weavers - in performances that could be narrated over four to seven days. Our scroll comes from Telangana. These scrolls differ from those of other regions because their focus is on the origins of their caste rather than just depicting episodes from Hindu mythology. The style of painting recalls the royal murals in Telangana and Andhra temples such as Lepakshi created for the rulers of Vijayanagara in the 15th and 16th centuries. Similar stylistic iconography can be found in an early scroll dated to 1625 painted in the Mahbubnagar district of Telangana in the Mittal Museum (published Stewart Cary Welch, India, Art and Culture from 1300-1900, New York, 1982, no.19, p. 51).
The work on surviving scrolls from the 17th through to the 20th century are remarkably consistent. In part this is because new scrolls were created as direct copies of earlier, weathered scrolls meaning that few painter families would exist simultaneously. According to Mittal, only ‘eight to ten families of painters lived in Telangana’ from the 17th to the 19th century (Jagdish Mittal, Deccani Scroll Paintings, Hyderabad, 2014, p.15). However Mittal records that since 1942 only one family of painters remains in Cherial.
Similar scrolls are in the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum (76.469) and British Museum (1996,0615,0.1). Fragmentary sections are in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1971-270-1) and Seattle Art Museum (76.41 and 76.42). A similar complete scroll from the John and Susan Huntington collection sold in Christie's New York, 21 September 2022, lot 438, whilst a 20th century scroll depicting the genealogy of the Dhobi caste sold in these Rooms, 24 May 2017, lot 96.