Ceremonial wrapper (puria)

This wrapper is a rare survivor and is the closest we can come to the ritual function of Mithila paintings in a museum setting. Before the wedding begins, the groom’s family sends the bride packages of vermilion (sindoor) to be used during various ceremonies. The red powder is wrapped in paper decorated with auspicious motifs signifying prosperity and fertility. These are typically painted by a female member of the groom’s extended family. Similar motifs are painted on the wall in the bridal chamber (kohbar ghar) at the homes of the bride and groom.

This wrapper is decorated with the lotus plant motif at its center, a bamboo grove at the upper right, depictions of devotional rituals at the bottom, and auspicious motifs such as flowers, fish, tortoises, birds, and peacocks.

An ephemeral object that would typically be thrown away after it was used, this wrapper was made for the wedding of artist Godavari Dutta (now in her early eighties), who preserved it.