The Ramayana (Tales of Rama; The Freer Ramayana), Volume 1

Object Details

• Patron

  Abd al-Rahim (1556-1627)

• Artist

  Syama Sundara

  Ghulam 'Ali

  Kala Pahara

  Kamal

  Mohan

  Mushfiq

  Nadim

  Nadir

  Qasim

  Sadi (active 16th century)

  Shyam Sundar

  Yusuf 'Ali

  Zayn al'-'Abidin

  Fazi

• Court

  Mughal Court

• School/Tradition

  Mughal school

• Provenance

  Before 1890

  Ownership information unknown

  By 1890-1907

  Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  1907-1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See “Catalogue of Indo-Persian Pictures and Manuscripts, Principally of the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries by Native Artists, Collected by H. B. Hanna” [book], (London: Dowdeswell and Dowdeswells, 1890).

  Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914) was an officer in the British military and a collector of Indian paintings. Born in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, Hanna’s family later moved to London, where he was baptized in 1851. Beginning in 1857, Hanna served as a commissioned officer in the Indian Army and retired with the rank of Colonel in 1889. After his retirement, he resided in London and Petersfield with his younger sisters. According to Hanna, he began collecting Indian paintings around the time of the Indian Rebellion (1857-1859). See letter from Henry Bathurst Hanna to Charles Lang Freer, dated April 10, 1908 [sic, 1907], p. 3, Box 17, Folder No. 10, Charles Lang Freer Papers, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

  [2] See Charles Lang Freer art voucher no. 24, “For a collection of Indo-Persian pictures and manuscripts” from H. B. Hanna of Heathmere, Petersfield, Hants. [Hampshire], England, from October 1907, Box 114, Folder No. 12, Charles Lang Freer Papers, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., copy in object file.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

  Research updated April 19, 2024

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Body Image (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Yoga: The Art of Transformation (October 19, 2013 to January 26, 2014)

  Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)

  Colonel Hanna's Pictures (August 21, 1999 to February 6, 2000)

  Masterworks of Indian Painting (December 13, 1997 to June 13, 1998)

  The Natural World in Indian Painting (September 4, 1996 to May 17, 1997)

  South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)

  The Arts of South Asia (May 13, 1985 to December 2, 1985)

  The Ramayana (July 18, 1983 to April 15, 1984)

  The Imperial Image: Painting for the Mughal Court (September 25, 1981 to 30 March 1982)

  Indian Art (January 1, 1963 to January 28, 1981)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Art, Gallery 8 (July 15, 1958 to January 1, 1963)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Northern India

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Manuscript

• On View

  Freer Gallery 01: Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

  This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1590s, 1600s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Hanna, Henry Bathurst

• Place

  India

• Topic

  Art, Hermitage, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Cows, Bharata, Ashrams, Ascetic, Cremation, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Lakshmana, Ravana, Indra, Dasharatha, Vishvamitra, Sacrifice, Brahma? (Hindu deity), Boats and boating, Priest, Lava, Demon, Reign of Akbar (1556 - 1605), Sage, Kaikeyi, Funeral, Hanuman, Charles Lang Freer collection, Janaka, Ramayana, Krishna, Animals, Kusha, Abduction, Caves, Death, Illustrated, Seal, Mourning, Shiva

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians, Apsarases

• Object Type

  Manuscripts

• On View

  Yes