Curator

  • Art Institute Chicago
  • Harvard art museum
  • My Exhibition
Karna Attacks Ghatotkacha (text, recto; painting, verso), folio from a Razmnama (Book of War) series

Karna Attacks Ghatotkacha (text, recto; painting, verso), folio from a Razmnama (Book of War) series

Attributed to Kamal

Indian

The folio is from a Razmnama (Book of War), the Persian translation of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. The recto side of this folio features a horse-drawn chariot carrying the warrior-king Karna, who wears a gold helmet and vambraces (arm defenses). He fires an arrow at Ghatotkacha, a half human, half demon figure with magical powers, who fought on the opposite side of the Kurukshetra war. There are two text blocks containing Persian text written in nasta’liq script and black ink. A square The painting and the text has areas that have suffered from loss.

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Mughal period

Manuscripts