Sugriva
Unknown Artist
c. 1720
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and hand-colored silver paper appliqué on paper
Dimensions
35.5 × 23.5 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Ward
Accession Number
1975.73
About this artwork
The seated monkey king Sugriva presents the “fear not” gesture with his right hand. He served as Rama’s faithful ally during the war against Ravana. This work appears to have been made for French Jesuit missionaries by South Indian temple muralists. During the 1700s, missionaries commissioned sets of paintings from which they learned about the gods and literary figures popular among the people of the region.