Ram Darbar Superfine Pattachitra Painting

Patta’ means cloth and ‘Chitra’ means picture in Sanskrit. The beautiful painting depicts Lord Ram and Goddess Sita seated on a throne in Abhay mudra (blessing pose). They are surrounded by Laxman, Bharat, Lord Hanuman, Vibhishan and Jambavan. 

The painting of Ram Darbar is a popular décor in Hindu households and is considered a symbol of domestic harmony and good fortune. When worshipped, these statues emit happiness. They keep jealousy and negativity at bay. 

The canvas is prepared by hand using cotton cloth, tamarind seed gum and chalk powder. The indigenous natural primary colours used are prepared by the artisans themselves. Khadi (chalk powder) coats are applied firstly. After the coats are applied and polished, the pattis are trimmed on the sides and cut into required sizes. All figures are drawn to capture the essence of the legends and extent in proportion to one another and to the background.  

Only earth stone, vegetable and mineral colours are used to paint the pattas. Basically, primary colours are used in patta painting like sankha (white), Hingula (red), Harital (yellow), deepa kala (black), dhau (brown) and neela (indigo). The gum used with the colours is obtained from kaphitha tree (wood apple) and mixed with a coconut shell. The Chitrakars of Puri follow a different procedure which is based on several applications following one after the other such as Tipana ( sketch), Hingula Banaka (background colour filling), Ranga Banaka (character colour filling), Alankarlagi (ornamental work), Motakala (thick black line),Sarukala (fine black line), Ranga Lekha (fine ornamented work), Chhitadia (design work), Sankha patta (finishing touch with white colour) and Dhadikama (border design work).   

The cultural history of Orissa can be traced to pre-historic times. The history of art in Orissa began with the Mauryan rule over Kalinga in ancient Orissa, when stone was used as a medium of art. The first specimens of plastic art in Orissa date back to the third century B.C. found at Dhauli near Bhubaneswar and Jaugarh in the district of Ganjam. Later, the art activities in Orissa were influenced by the contemporary all India trade during first century BC. uptil fourth or fifth century A.D. From seventh century onwards, several royal dynasties ruled in succession over ancient Orissa and the political and cultural life became clearer. The sculptural art took a definite shape form during this period with the building of beautiful temple complexes in Bhubaneswar and other places in Orissa. According to the royal patronage and teachings of Vaishnav scholars, the tradition of Patachittra paintings has been associated with the Jagannath temple in Puri in the Ganga period (Circa A.D 1110 to 1435).

Dimension: 13 x 19 inches