MADHUBANI DRAWING - PAINTING / order India

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ORIGIN: India, Bihar, signed, ca. late 20th c.
MATERIAL: ink on paper, natural vegetal and/or mineral pigments
CONDITION: very good
SIZE: 11-1/4 x 3-3/4” in. [29 x 9.5 cm]
ITEM: M-01-666
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Here a beautifully abstracted figural illustration. Of what we are not quite sure- alternating fish with finely detailed scales(?), or, mountains and valleys and seas via repetitive linework. What we do know is that this is an intriguing artwork that changes over time. Well priced.

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Madhubani or Mithila arts are an indigenous folk painting-drawing tradition practiced in the Mithila region of northern Bihar, India. Here long ago resided the Kingdom of Mithila (Videhas), comprised of wide arid plains between the Himalaya Mountains and the Ganges RIver.

Practiced primarily by woman, the Madhubani art making tradition has been passed down from mother to daughter for centuries- some say for order almost 3,000 years. Although originating as a mural painting tradition, since the 1960's the work is also created on paper to reach a wider audience. The artworks most often comprise a pared down two-dimensional imagery, with iconography depicting elements of myth and tales relating the origin of the earth, deities, supernatural beings and personage from the ancient Hindu epics - as well as everyday contemporary cultural rituals. Themes of religion, love and fertility combine with scenes of surrounding flora, fauna and nature. Paintings and drawings are created with pastes of powdered rice with pigments extracted from local plants and minerals, via ad-hoc tools including fingers, twigs, bamboo brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks.

Madhubani arts are a living tradition with little care for pleasing aesthetics, created from direct action rather than through planned preliminary sketches. Before starting a work a Madhubani artist often undertakes prayer to deities for reverence and blessings toward their artwork, individual household and community.

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Madhubani works in exhibitions:

2020: Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA, USA, 'Many Visions, Many Versions'

2016: Artcurial Library, Monaco, ‘Indian Dreaming…….'

2010: Musée du Quai Branly, Paris France, 'Autres maîtres de l'Inde'

1989: Centre George Pompidou, Paris France, 'Les magiciens de la Terre'

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