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The Heroine Chanda fanning her beloved, Laurak, under a tree, from a manuscript of the Chandayana (The Story of Chanda)
The Heroine Chanda fanning her beloved, Laurak, under a tree, from a manuscript of the Chandayana (The Story of Chanda)

The Heroine Chanda fanning her beloved, Laurak, under a tree, from a manuscript of the Chandayana (The Story of Chanda)

Place of Originprobably Mandu, Madhya Pradesh state, India, former sultanate of Malwa
Dateapprox. 1540
MaterialsOpaque watercolors and gold on paper
DimensionsH. 7 7/8 in x W. 5 3/4 in, H. 19.8 cm x W. 14.6 cm
Credit LineGift of the Society for Asian Art
Object numberB81D33.3
DepartmentSouth Asian Art
ClassificationsPainting
On View
Not on view
More Information
The Story of Chanda, written in the late 1300s, relates the adventures of the heroine Chanda and her beloved, Laurak. This page depicts Chanda attending to her lover after they have run away together. Derived from an Indian folktale, the story was written for a minister of the reigning sultan of Delhi. This illustrated manuscript is a historical landmark of considerable importance. Here, an indigenous Indian style of painting is combined with the art of Persian and Turkish paintings. Such a fusion is evident in this manuscript, as its appearance combines the soft colors, high horizon, and scroll-like clouds of Persian painting with a more local tendency to depict profile figures against a flat background.
The lovers Laurak and Chanda, page from a manuscript of the Chandayana (The Story of Chanda)
The lovers Laurak and Chanda, page from a manuscript of the Chandayana (The Story of Chanda)
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Laurak visits his mother upon his return home, from a manuscript of the Chandayana (The story of Chanda)
Laurak visits his mother upon his return home, from a manuscript of the Chandayana (The story of Chanda)
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