Folio 18 from a Chandana Malayagiri Varta (Story of King Chandana and Queen Malayagiri) of Karamachand: Ravana battles the great vulture Jatayu and defeats him by throwing stones in his mouth (recto); Jatayu approaches Rama and Lakshmana who are wondering where Sita could be (verso)

Archival Details

• Tradition: Rajput
• Period: 1744–45
• Medium: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Recto Painting: 13.4 x 14.9 cm (5 1/4 x 5 7/8 in.); Verso Painting: 14.9 x 14.8 cm (5 7/8 x 5 13/16 in.); Overall: 28.8 x 20 cm (11 5/16 x 7 7/8 in.)
• Credit line: James Parmelee and Cornelia Blakemore Warner Funds
• Source: The Cleveland Museum of Art, accession 1968.108

Rajput painting encompasses the courtly schools of Rajasthan — including Mewar, Bundi, Kota, and Kishangarh — active roughly from the 16th to 19th centuries. These workshops produced richly colored paintings on paper depicting court life, Hindu devotional themes, and literary subjects, each region developing its own distinct palette and compositional style.