GANESHA - PATA PAINTING

Coconut fiber cloth, mineral pigments, gum.
India, Orissa, Raghurajpur near Puri, 80-ties of the 20th cent.
Patas (pata-chitra) are traditional religious paintings from Orissa. They are related to Puri, the religious centre of the Jagannath cult but they also show other deities and mythical heroes. Ganesha, son of Shiva and Parvati with an elephant's head is a very popular god of prosperity and welfare.

MAP 6977, gift of H.P. Nanda, Escorts Ltd., New Delhi, 1982.