A leaf from the Ramayana: Sita at Ravana’s Palace, Mewar, 17th - 18th century

Acquired in the United States circa 1972.

Collection of the Steig Family.

In the present illustration, numbered '99',of the Aranyakakanda book of the great Ramayana, and the next contiguous illustration, numbered '100' (lot 198), the demon King Ravana appears in his palace surrounded by his wives and the daughters of gods and other divine creatures he has previously captured. Before him stands Sita, the wife of Rama, who he has imprisoned. His fortress at Lanka is guarded by his animal-headed minions. 1. The Modern Part of a Universal History from the Earliest Account of Time Compiled from Original Writers, vol. V (London: S.Richardson et. al, 1759), pp. 466-477, 469.

The folio is representative of a playful style associated with the Rajput principality of Mewar. The red and yellow borders, the prominence of primary colors in the overall compositions, the execution of foliage with pointed leaves splaying out in a circular fashion from a central point; and the sharp profiles of each figure, closely match that of a folio from a dispersed manuscript depicting Rama and Lakshmana searching the forest for Sita dated to circa 1680-1690 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 1974.148).