Important Notice

Padmavati Parinaya

Inscribed in English (verso)
Ink and mineral pigments on canvas scroll
51 x 28 in (129.5 x 71.1 cm)



Pattachitra painting developed around religious centres in Orissa like Konark and Puri, and recalls the ancient murals of the region. These finely detailed works are created on layers of primed cloth or 'patta', and were originally used to worship on days when the temples were inaccessible because the idols were being bathed. Pattachitra paintings are created using extremely fine brushes and colours derived from natural sources like the conch shell and lamp soot.

This intricate pattachitra painting is a pictorial description of the meeting and marriage of King Purusottam Dev of Orissa and Princess Padmavati of Kanchi in the 15th century A.D. The twenty- seven episodes of this story take place in separate panels, and can be read from left to right, from top to bottom. The final episode, however, where the royal couple seeks blessing from LordJagannath following their wedding, is depicted in the central panel that is shaped like a conch shell and called the 'sankha kshetra'. This legend is popular in Orissa, and is also portrayed in one of the prominent reliefs in the Jagamohana of the Jagannath Temple there.

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