Untitled (Dralha)

National Art Treasure (non-exportable work)

Jamini Roy, one of India’s nine National Art Treasure artists, is lauded for forging a unique Indian aesthetic for modern art by bringing together elements of traditional Bengali folk art and Kalighat patachitras. Throughout his career, the artist periodically experimented with several other styles, as attested by the rare painting on view. This Untitled artwork is comparable to Tibetan Buddhist art and iconography, bearing resemblance to a thangka or hanging scroll. The central figure in the painting is presumed to correspond with the notion of the dralha, fierce protector deities who are warriors riding on horseback. Pictorially, the work conforms sufficiently to the image conventions associated with the Tibetan tradition.