Giant Demon Attacks a Ship

Object Details

• School/Tradition

  Jain school

• Label

  Popular tales and lively images played a role in transmitting beliefs and values to the Jain community. The Shripalarasa is a narrative that recounts the wondrous adventures of the Jain Prince Shripala, who travels to distant lands in search of trade and wealth. In this unusually large and vivacious painting, the artist represents the Prince's ship as a British vessel. The inscriptions scattered across the painting, which repetively identify parts of the ship, indicate a fascination with seafaring. The depiction of the Union Jack lends immediacy to a story that took place long before the British came to India.

• Provenance

  Private collector [1]

  To 1999

  Spink & Son Ltd., London, to 1999

  From 1999

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Spink & Son Ltd. in 1999

  Notes:

  [1] According to Curatorial Note 3 in the object record.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Body Image (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

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

  South Asian Sculpture (February 22, 2000 to June 18, 2003)

  The Peaceful Liberators: Jain Art from India (November 6, 1994 to January 21, 1996)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Spink & Son Ltd. (established 1666)

• Origin

  Gujarat state, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• On View

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

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1780s, 1760s

• Name

  Spink & Son Ltd.

• Place

  Gujarat state, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Boats and boating, Art, Fishes, Demon

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings

• On View

  Yes