
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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US$10,000 - US$15,000
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International Director
Orissan palm leaf manuscripts reached their peak of production in the 18th century, during the golden age of Oriya kavya literature, when large numbers of chitra-pothis (illustrated palm-leaf manuscripts) were commissioned. Due to the delicate nature of the material and susceptibility to the extreme environment and insects, very few earlier examples remain. The earliest known Orissan palm leaf manuscript dates to c.1690 (Cary Welch, India, New York 1985, pp.62-3; Losty, The Art of the Book, p.137, no.114).
The lot is a remarkably preserved collection of illustrated folios, possibly comprising one or two complete chapters of the manuscript. It begins with a customary illustrated folio of the ten avatars of Vishnu, with Jagannath appearing as the ninth avatar, betraying the manuscript's Orissan origin. On this folio's reverse, a colophon leads on to a gallant equestrian parade.
Compare with other folios from contemporary Orissan palm leaf manuscripts published in Czuma, Indian Art from the George P. Bickford Collection, Cleveland, 1975, no.132; Poster, Realms of Heroism, Brooklyn NY, 1994, p.302, no.252; Sharma, Indian Miniature Painting, Brussels, 1974, p.35, pl.98; and sold Sotheby's, New York, 26 March 1998, lot 18, and 18 March 2017, lot 1197.
Provenance
Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection
Thence by descent, 1993-9
Private New York Collection