
Priya Singh
Head of Department
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Head of Department

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Provenance
Property from a private collection, UK.
Narayan, a self-taught artist, is celebrated for his narrative works that draw deeply from Indian mythology, literature, and miniature painting traditions. Though he later became renowned for his delicate watercolours, pastels, and etchings, he began his career working with ceramics, making this present piece a representative example of his early tile work. His distinctive visual language combines elements of medieval woodcuts, Byzantine iconography, and the Ajanta murals, resulting in richly symbolic, small-scale compositions. In 1987, he was awarded the Padma Shri, and his work is held in major public collections including the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.
This present tile features a stylised bird outlined in white against a green background. Geometric detailing; spirals, dots, and hatching, enhance its abstracted form, recalling both modernist European ceramic traditions and Indian decorative arts. In Indian visual culture, birds often symbolise freedom, transcendence, or the link between the earthly and the divine, recurring themes in Narayan's practice.