Cheriyal scroll paintings, produced in the Indian state of Telangana, have a claim to be the largest category of 'book' regularly made anywhere. This example measures 1.2 meters wide by over 15 meters long, and was made as backdrop to an oral performance by an itinerant bard. 1/
This huge painted scroll of the Madel Puranamu illustrating the story of the Daksha-Yajna & Virabhadra, is from Chariyal in Telangana, and is signed by the artist Nakashi Venkata Ramaiah (active first half of the 20th century), one of the last great Cheriyal scroll painters. 2/
Scroll paintings have a rich history and play an important role in the Indian artistic tradition. Most regions of India have their own traditions in scroll paintings on cloth which were carried from village to village by itinerant bards and made by village artists. 3/
Telangana, the state based round Hyderabad, has a particularly rich tradition of such paintings on cloth, drawing mainly on local traditions. Apart from the great stories from the epics and puranas, many more local stories were illustrated in this manner too. 4/
The scrolls form a colourful pictographic story-telling backdrop to the recitation of traditional tales and legends by itinerant professional bards or narrators. The scrolls are usually commissioned by the same members of the caste that commissioned the performance itself. 5/
The scrolls set out the adventures & exploits of the local folk heroes on the fringes of the Hindu Puranas, and who were often the originators of the caste. Each community had its favourite heroes and heroines as well as a favorite selection of stories from local mythologies. 6/
This Cheriyal scroll was deaccessioned in the early 1990s from the library of the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles, founded by the remarkable (and controversial) esoteric teacher, mystic and public lecturer Manly Hall. Hall originally purchased it in the 1950s. 7/
Loading suggestions...