The Ramayana (Tales of Rama; The Freer Ramayana), Volume 2

Object Details

• Patron

  Abd al-Rahim (1556-1627)

• Artist

  Syama Sundara

  Ghulam 'Ali

  Syama Sundara

  Kala Pahara

  Kamal

  Mohan

  Mushfiq

  Nadim

  Nadir

  Qasim

  Sadi (active 16th century)

  Shyam Sundar

  Yusuf 'Ali

  Zayn al'-'Abidin

• 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)

  East of Eden: Gardens in Asian Art (February 24 to May 13, 2007)

  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)

• Previous custodian or owner

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

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  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)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1590s, 1600s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Hanna, Henry Bathurst

• Place

  India

• Topic

  Art, Sita, Hermitage, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Monkeys, Ascetic, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Lakshmana, Ravana, Indra, Dasharatha, Sacrifice, Brahma? (Hindu deity), Chariot, Lava, Demon, Kubera, Reign of Akbar (1556 - 1605), Sage, Madhavi, Herb, Kumbhakarna, Hanuman, Charles Lang Freer collection, Ramayana, Krishna, Animals, Kusha, Death, Illustrated, Giant, Shiva

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts

• On View

  Yes