Posted on: 31 January 2012

Scroll painting showing Hindu deities, Andhra or Tamilnadu, ca. 1771 or ca. 1779.

This is a detail from a horizontal scroll-painting depicting Hindu deities. It is a Company painting (the name given to paintings made by Indian artists for the British in India). William Marsden, who served in Sumatra as an East India Company writer between 1771 and 1779, acquired it. In 1785 he established an East India Agency business in London and later became First Secretary to the Admiralty. He devoted himself to scholarly pursuits relating to Asia, and in 1783 he published a History of Sumatra. He presented this scroll to the Royal Asiatic Society in 1828. In 1924 the Society gave it to the V&A.

Surce: V&A, London


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the detailing is just beautiful...

these are from AP

Beautiful!

they have great ethnic details but everybody seems to have moustache!

awesome..

definetily andhra........sriklaahast style kalamkari .................similar contemporary pintings are also availavel

Beautiful!

can anyone identify the deities??

They are Brahma and Vishnu (seated atop Garuda) with their consorts. Yes, it is from Andhra probably with the deities names written in Telugu underneath each one of them and the painting style is Kalamkari.

vishnu in three-quarter view and nails of garuda in toes are inteesting..

Rare Book Society of India there must be a shiva in tow the nandis neck is visible can u post the entire pa nel?

Sorry!...unable to locate the complete panel.

well this is from karnataka... and may be the vijayanagara later period called surapura style of painting..!!