Title
Ceremonial hanging depicting the battle between Rama and Ravana
Year/Period
Late 18th century
Region
Coromandel coast, eastern Tamil Nadu state, south India
Object Type
Dimension
Object size: L517.8 x W95.5 cm
Accession No.
1999-02689
Collection of
This ceremonial hanging was made for export to Indonesia. It is a typical representation of the Ramayana epic that singles out the episode of the battle between Rama, the crown price of Ayodhya, and Ravana, the ogre king of Lanka. In this hanging, the central characters are strategically placed in the centre surrounded by the monkey army on Rama’s side (right), and the ogre army on Ravana’s side (left). The black outlined figures are filled in with brown and maroon paint to accentuate three-dimensionality of the figures.
