Painted Map of Benaras – Indian Art
A pilgrim’s map of Benaras with the Kashi Vishwanath temple at the centre. Seen in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London Feb 2018 jaina mishra| wovensouls View more Exquisite Antique … Continue reading
The Irony of my tiny Astrological Thangka Collection
It is ironical and even absurd that my journey in collecting Tibetan material began from being impressed by their ideology of renunciation of material wealth! The life seen in Tibet … Continue reading
A Kalamkari Coverlet – Antique Indian Textiles
A visit to any museum can be exhausting and the maximum I can handle is about 1 – 2 hours of exposure. In any given hall there are always too … Continue reading
The Bridal Sari of the erstwhile Queen of Sawantwadi 1922
I’ve seen a dozen or so amazing antique zari saris but none has been as unusual as this one seen in the museum of Sawantwadi, This shalu – a zari … Continue reading
Museum of Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings
In Trivandrum in the old city area one of the buildings in the museum complex houses several paintings by Raja Ravi Varma. Photography is not allowed inside so for my … Continue reading
Tales the Phra Malai Thai Manuscripts tell!
It will be years before I will be able to understand all the stories contained in the few Phra Malai manuscripts that I’ve seen! Some are stories from the life … Continue reading
Science & Art in the Tibetan Astrological Calendar Sidpaho
Predicting the future and fortunes of an individual based on the movement of the planets across the reference matrix of the constellations, presupposes knowledge of astronomy. With very few instruments … Continue reading
Antique Cheriyal Painted Scroll – Art for Oral Traditions
In South Indian Paintings – A catalogue of the British Museum collection, A. L. Dallaiccola notes “Although in the past the majority of Indian people might have been illiterate, they … Continue reading
A Yao Ceremonial Mask
On a trip in 2009, I got this Yao mask from back of the bottom drawer of a store owned by an elderly couple. The beautiful woman and I shared … Continue reading
Variety of Textiles within Antique Yao / Zhuang Ceremonial Scrolls – 2
Continuing to study the diversity in the two Yao paintings, with a focus on costumes in this note. In each do take note of the composition of the costume – … Continue reading
Pattua Singing from Bengal
In Bengal, in the olden days, in order to disseminate the holy stories, folk legends adn perhaps even news of major events, Pattua scrolls were used. Women first painted out … Continue reading
Memories of a Sublime Experience – Balinese Art
Memories of a sublime art experience in Bali
Antique Thai Calendar Paintings
The logic of the twelve Thai Zodiac signs follows the logic of Chinese zodiac signs and defines a person’s fortune based on the ‘year’ or birth rather than the ‘month’ … Continue reading
Antique Ayuthaya Paintings – Available for Sale
One more style of painting – one more delectable recipe that makes the senses dance int his ongoing visual feast – Ayutthaya paintings from Thailand. The subject matter relates to … Continue reading
Daily Art Fix – Warli Paintings on Dung
The original idea was to use the cow dung walls of homes as the medium to paint on using white pigment made of rice & gum. Then at some point … Continue reading
18th Century Transport!
Painting of 18th century transport: Offered by Tremont Auction House. Sold for US$1300 (2016) jm March 2016
Textiles in Ancient Balinese Paintings
Life is full of choices and the worst challenges are choosing between two bad choices or between two good choices. Shall I buy a painting or a textile? Shall I … Continue reading
External Article – Ajanta Cave Murals
An article by William Dalrymple on the magnificent murals inside the 31 caves of Ajanta, India, created between the 1st / 2nd century B.C. and 5th century AD. Click here … Continue reading
DAILY ART FIX – AN ARTWORK A DAY
An addict constantly needs a fix to keep him stable. Me – in moments of extreme stress I find solace & peace in viewing works of traditional art. In normal … Continue reading
Book of the Month – June 2015
This landmark book on the subject is now on its way to me. Cannot wait to read it!
Auctions of Interest – Bonhams June 9, 2015
Islamic & Indian Art June 9, 2015 Offering a treasure-filled catalogue that made me stop at several lots of paintings, manuscripts and objects – a deeper look is bound to … Continue reading
