{
"data": {
"id": 130637,
"accession_number": "1953.357",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Rama and Lakshmana Fighting Ravana, from a Dashavatara (Ten Incarnations [of Vishnu]) series, c. 1765. Northern India, Pahari Region, Himachal Pradesh, Rajput Kingdom of Chamba, Court of Raj Singh (reigned 1764\u201394). Gum tempera and gold on paper; painting: 21.2 x 15.8 cm (8 3/8 x 6 1/4 in.); overall: 26.8 x 19.4 cm (10 9/16 x 7 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Edward L. Whittemore Fund, 1953.357",
"current_location": null,
"title": "Rama and Lakshmana Fighting Ravana, from a Dashavatara (Ten Incarnations [of Vishnu]) series",
"creation_date": "c. 1765",
"creation_date_earliest": 1745,
"creation_date_latest": 1775,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Northern India, Pahari Region, Himachal Pradesh, Rajput Kingdom of Chamba, Court of Raj Singh (reigned 1764\u201394)"
],
"technique": "Gum tempera and gold on paper",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Indian and Southeast Asian Art",
"collection": "Indian Art",
"type": "Painting",
"measurements": "Painting: 21.2 x 15.8 cm (8 3/8 x 6 1/4 in.); Overall: 26.8 x 19.4 cm (10 9/16 x 7 5/8 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"painting": {
"height": 0.212,
"height_inch": 8,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.375,
"width": 0.158,
"width_inch": 6,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.25
},
"overall": {
"height": 0.268,
"height_inch": 10,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.5625,
"width": 0.194,
"width_inch": 7,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.625
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
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"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [
{
"inscription": "[[top border, in Takri]] sri raja ram lachhamana avatara",
"inscription_translation": "Sri Raja Rama and Lakshmana incarnation [of Vishnu]",
"inscription_remark": "Written in white on the red border, typical of Chamba",
"sortorder": null
}
],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 518572,
"title": "Rajput Painting",
"description": "Rajput Painting. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (November 30, 1960-January 22, 1961).",
"opening_date": "1960-11-30T05:00:00"
},
{
"id": 310042,
"title": "Images of the Mind",
"description": "Images of the Mind. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 7-August 30, 1987).",
"opening_date": "1987-07-07T04:00:00"
},
{
"id": 457592,
"title": "Imagining Rama\u2019s Journey",
"description": "Imagining Rama\u2019s Journey. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 10-September 17, 2023).",
"opening_date": "2023-03-09T05:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": []
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "(Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": "?\u20131953",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": "1953\u2013",
"sortorder": 2
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "Rama and Lakshmana wield divine bows in their fight against the ten-headed demon Ravana.",
"early_education_description": null,
"artlens_description": null,
"description": "Against the dark green and foreboding landscape, the final and much-anticipated battle between the demon king Ravana and the mighty princes Rama and Lakshmana unfolds. Ravana wields twenty weapons, including a poisonous snake in his front left hand. The blue Rama aims an enchanted crescent-shaped arrow at bees emitted from the donkey head at the apex of Ravana\u2019s ten crowns. The arrow and bees stand for powerful mantras, or magical incantations, that can destroy one\u2019s enemies. The impending defeat of Ravana will fulfill the purpose of Vishnu\u2019s incarnation as Rama.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60516376"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1953.357-rama-and-lakshmana-f"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "Lee, Sherman E. and George Montgomery. Rajput Painting; with an introductory essay and catalogue notes. New York: Asia House, 1960.",
"page_number": "Cat. no. 68.",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 108, pp. 268\u2013269",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art. Images of the Mind. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1987.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 19.",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Diane de Selliers, ed., Ra\u0304ma\u0304yan\u0323a. Volume VI. Paris: Diane de Selliers E\u0301diteur, 2011.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 255",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Biardeau, Madeleine, and Porcher, Marie-Claude. Ra\u0304ma\u0304yan\u0323a: Illustre\u0301 par les Miniatures Indiennes du XVIe au XIXe Sie\u0300cle. Pairs: Diane de Selliers, 2024.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 359.",
"url": ""
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1953.357",
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"creditline": "Edward L. Whittemore Fund",
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"athena_id": 130637,
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"alternate_titles": [
"Rama and Lakshmana fighting Ravana",
"Rama and Lakshmana fighting Ravana, from a set of Vishnu avatara paintings"
],
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"updated_at": "2026-05-29 06:45:24.813000"
}
}