Hanuman and the Vanaras learn of Sita’s location from the vulture Sampati, an illustration to the Ramayana, Nurpur or Mankot, circa 1710-20

gouache on paper, red borders, inscription on verso in nagari in red and black, numbered '45' on reverse in nagari

In good condition, small stain on green background of painting, very minor crease near feet of once of the monkey figures, the red external border with some creases and minor tears, reverse with crease lines (discoloured), as viewed.
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The distinctive series from which this illustration comes is notable for conveying the lyrical as well as confrontational aspects of the Ramayana legend, and for its relatively cool palette in which greens predominate, and there is a lushness to the landscapes and vegetation that sets it apart from many other early Pahari series. All the thirty to forty illustrations so far known from this series illustrate episodes from the Kishkindha Kanda, the section dealing with Rama's early experiences with his monkey allies. They illustrate the text in great detail, with a relatively large number of illustrations for approximately one tenth of the text of the whole Ramayana, but it is possible that this was the only portion of the epic ever produced for this series.

This scene here depicts the story in the Kishkindha Kanda in which the party of monkeys led by Angada and Hanuman come upon the wingless vulture king Sampati, who is able to give them news of where Sita has been taken. The text relates that initially Sampati, upon seeing the monkeys on the mountain plateau below his cave, plans to eat them. But Angada makes a moving speech mentioning Sampati's brother Jatayu, who had been killed by Ravana while trying to protect Sita, and Sampati relents and asks the monkeys to carry him down the mountain to their plateau so they can converse (Sampati has lost his wings through flying too close to the sun, so cannot fly). The monkeys carry him down from his mountain-top cave and he tells them that he saw Sita being carried off by Ravana and that Ravana resides in the city of Lanka. See The Ramayana of Valmiki, translated by Hari Prasad Shastri, London, 1969, vol.II, pp.304-311.

Here we see the monkeys carrying Sampati at left, and depositing him on the ground at the foot of the mountain at right. The group of figures in the centre includes Hanuman, Angada and Jambavan. The present work must be the preceding illustration to one formerly in the collection of W.G. Archer, which shows the monkeys seated and conversing with Sampati in a very similar landscape (Archer 1976, no.66).

When it was first considered by Archer it was thought to originate from Mankot (Archer 1976, nos. 65-66), an attribution upheld by Goswamy and Smith (Goswamy and Smith 2005, no.83, pp.202-3). However, it has also been attributed to Nurpur (Leach 1986, no.137), and has recently been linked to the sons of the artist Devidasa (Seyller and Mittal 2014, pp.36-38), its importance being summed up as follows: "Hence, this inventive Ramayana series can now be assigned to Nurpur during the reign of Raja Daya Dhata and be linked to one of the most illustrious artist families active in the Pahari region." (ibid, p.38).

Other illustrations from the series are in museum and private collections including the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum, Hyderabad, the Rietberg Museum, Zurich, Cleveland Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the San Diego Museum of Art (Edwin Binney 3rd Collection). Several have been sold in these rooms: 11 December 1973, lot 353, 9 October 1978, lot 338, 8 October 1979, lot 152, 29 April 1992, lot 20, 23 April 1997, lot 7; and in our New York rooms 22 March 1989, lot 160, 3 October 1990, lot 55, and 28 October 1991, lot 44. For further illustrations see Britschgi and Fischer 2008, nos.40, 43, 45-50.