Oriya manuscript (unidentified), folio: A Courtier Visits an Ascetic. (Images and text on both sides; pair with 1985/2.144)

Accession Number
1997/2.40

Title
Oriya manuscript (unidentified), folio: A Courtier Visits an Ascetic. (Images and text on both sides; pair with 1985/2.144)

Artist(s)
Indian

Artist Nationality
Indian (South Asian)

Object Creation Date
19th century

Medium & Support
charcoal dust and washes of color on incised palm leaf

Dimensions
1 1/2 in x 9 1/2 in (3.8 cm x 24.2 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Professor Walter M. and Nesta R. Spink

Label copy
In this scene, a young prince, seen at right in his bejeweled splendor, offers reverence to an ascetic. The sage, nearly naked and with matted hair, sits on an animal skin. His right hand is in the gesture of exposition, suggesting that he is preaching to his courtly audience.
The Orissan manuscript pages in this case are good examples of the palm-leaf book format, which dates back many centuries in northeast India. Artists would inscribe lines into the leaf, fill the incisions with charcoal, and often added color. Both sides of the leaf would be used, and a stack of leaves would be strung together through the hole in the center. Manuscript covers, usually made of wood, were placed on the top and bottom of the sheaf of leaves, and the whole manuscript would be wrapped in cloth to protect it from dust and moisture when not in active use.
Exhibited in "Divine Encounters, Earthly Pleasures: Twenty Centuries of Indian Art" at UMMA, 12/12/03–2/22/04.

Subject matter
The Orissan manuscript pages in this case are good examples of the palm-leaf book format, which dates back many centuries in northeast India. Artists would inscribe lines into the leaf, fill the incisions with charcoal, and often added color. Both sides of the leaf would be used, and a stack of leaves would be strung together through the hole in the center. Manuscript covers, usually made of wood, were placed on the top and bottom of the sheaf of leaves, and the whole manuscript would be wrapped in cloth to protect it from dust and moisture when not in active use.

Physical Description
In this scene, a young prince, seen at right in his bejeweled splendor, offers reverence to an ascetic. The sage, nearly naked and with matted hair, sits on an animal skin. His right hand is in the gesture of exposition, suggesting that he is preaching to his courtly audience.

Primary Object Classification
Bound Work

Primary Object Type
manuscript

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
Figures
asceticism
calligraphy
calligraphy (process)
figures (illustrations)
leaf
leaf (metal)
manuscripts

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted