Add Or 3662

A painting depicting the Jagannatha trio in their temple car accompanied by precursors.

By a citrakar of Puri, Puri district, Orissa, c.1800 or earlier.

Gouache and earth-colours on prepared cloth; 220 by 265 mm.

Acquired by W.G. Archer from members of the painter community in a suburb of Puri, December 1933. Purchased 1974.

The gods in their temple car, preceded by a rider on a yellow deer. The Jagannatha trio, shown as a group of stunted figures, stare out from a lumbering temple car - Balabhadra with circular red face to the left, Subhadra a midget figure beside him, Jagannatha with black shield-like face to the right. The two main figures heavily garlanded with white flowers are shown with upraised curving wooden ‘arms’ cut off at the wrists. The temple car has two small wheels, black under-carriage and green furnishings. To the left, a rider in dark green coat and trousers, his right hand waving a thick peacock-feather fan, rides on a prancing yellow deer which glances backwards. Madder background with white flowers. Black borders decorated with white jasmine flowers.

Note: The yellow deer is perhaps an allusion to Marica, the demon minister who accompanied Ravana to the hermitage of Rama and Sita. To inveigle Rama, Marica assumed the form of a yellow deer which Rama pursued and killed. For further references to the yellow deer, see Add.Or.3721.

Although each image has, in fact, its own temple-car - that of Jagannatha having sixteen wheels, that of Balabhadra fourteen and that of Subhadra twelve - in these picturez all three images are shown huddled together in a single car.