A LARGE AND RARE JAIN PATAKA PAINTING INSCRIBED WITH YANTRAS AND MANTRAS, RAJASTHAN, 16TH CENTURY

A LARGE AND RARE JAIN PATAKA PAINTING INSCRIBED WITH YANTRAS AND MANTRAS, RAJASTHAN, 16TH CENTURY Western India. Distemper on cloth, mounted and framed on canvas. Intricately painted, the upper register painted with a yantra and a calendrical chart next to depictions of Vasuki, Ganesha, Indra, Shiva, and other deities housed in individual grottos. The upper right-hand register depicts the largest figure, the tantric twelve-armed Hanuman. The largest section is painted with numerous rows of mantras. The lower right-hand register holds a second yantra above a charioteer riding the eleven-headed horse, Uchchaihshravas. The painting is enclosed by a floral band with a green ground. Inscriptions: The numerous tables of mantra and yantra are inscribed with dense Sanskrit text written in the Devanagari script. Provenance: From the private collection of K.C. Aryan, Gurgaon, India. Spanish private collection, acquired from the above in 1972. Collection of Carlos Cruañas Dalmau, Barcelona, acquired from the above. K.C. Aryan (1919-2002) was a painter, sculptor, art historian, and a pioneer collector of Indian folk and tribal art. He founded and directed the Museum of Folk & Tribal art in 1984 after having assembled a large collection during his travels throughout rural and tribal areas in India. He was passionate for the preservation of folk art, bringing to light priceless artifacts from tribal India through his 23 scholarly publications. His museum is managed today by his family, Dr. Subhashini Aryan, B.N. Aryan, and Anuradha Aryan. Condition: Extensive wear, soiling, fading, stains, creases, folds, and losses with associated repairs, still presenting fairly well. Dimensions: Image size 102.5 x 101.5 cm, Size incl. frame 104.6 x 105 cm Hanuman is depicted in his tantric five-headed, twelve-armed Pancha Mukha form striding forward and trampling a male and female demon. He brandishes several weapons as well as a banner, the divine gada, a decapitated head, a damaru shiva drum, serpent, and various other implements. Above his crown are five animal heads (a goose, snake, mule, lion, and horse) and Hanuman’s tail, which is inscribed and suspends a number of heads. Further up is a sun disk, which Hanuman consumed as a child and therefore gained his immortality, as well as two further deities. Literature comparison: Compare a later depiction of Hanuman in his tantric five-headed Pancha Mukha form, 48.9 x 42.5 cm, dated to the late 19th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2019.209. Compare a related yantra diagram from Rajasthan, resembling the lower right-hand yantra, 15.5 x 11.4 cm, dated ca. 18th century, in the Morgan Library & Museum, accession number MS M.1208.