The present publication breaks new ground for comparatively little has been written on Scroll Painting though we have a great deal of literature on miniatures and murals. But even with regard to such articles as have been written on Scroll Painting many have been confined to particular scrolls. This is the first co-ordinated study of Scroll Painting in all its forms, dimentions and purposes. This form of painting is known from ancient times but what remains is of more recent origion. Scrolls were a form of visual education for both epic stories as well as puranic lore and they were also used by “picture showmenâ€. So also the Buddhist Jatakas were illustrated in scrolls. Painted scrolls were also used by the Jains for various purposes including Invitation Letters. Painted Scrolls were both religiouis and secular in character. Thus for instance we have the famous Vasant Vilas which deals with the Joys of Spring (A.D. 1451). The present volume covers the entire range of Painted Scrolls, namely Gujarat, Kashmir, Lucknow and the Deccan where we find the procession scene of Abdullah Qutub Shah in the Prince of Wales Museum, Bomaby. So also we have scrolls from Chddapah in the Madras Museum from Rahasthan, Bengal, Maharashtra and Puri. Various kinds of Patas are dealt with, as the painters of these Patas and the technique of preparing background. The author for comparative purposes has also dealt with Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Tibet. This publication is much praiseworthy for its comparative novelity to those not too familier with Indian painting but also for its coverage. It deals with all important aspect of Scroll Painting as is indeed a valuable contribution to Indian painting being happily a departure from the usual subject matter and emphasizing a form of pictorial art which has never been adequately appreciated understood written about.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shiv Kumar Sharma
Dr. Shiv Kumar Sharma, has done M.A. in History of Art and Ph.D. from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He secured First Class First Position and was awarded the University Gold Medal. He also passed Post-Graduate Diploma in art & Architecture from the same University and Post-Graduate Diploma in Archaeology & Museums from Varanasys Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi securing First Class First in both the Courses. He availed Greek Government Scholarship for another Ph.D. and studied at Athens University Greece in the department of Archaeology and History of Art. During his studies in Greece, he also obtained one year’s diploma in Modern Greek language from the Athens University. On his return from Greece, he was selected as Pool Officer by the U.P.S.C., sponsored by the C.S.I.R. He served Crafts Museum (Govt. of India), New Delhi as Assistant Director and National Museum, New Delhi as Pool Officer. Thereafter, he joined Allahabad Museum, another National Museum of the country, as Education Officer in 1988. Dr. Sharma has honour of several awards like B.H.U. Scholarship, Sr. Fellowship of the I.C.H.R., Research Associateship of the U.G.C., etc. In 1992, ‘Small Study and Research Grant’ was awarded by the ‘Nehru Trust for the Indian Collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum. He has organized a large number of art exhibitions of national and international repute in India and abroad. Besides exhibitions at Allahabad Museum, he has organized a number of educational activities, short-term courses on Indian and European art, lectures, seminars and symposiums. Among noteworthy contributions, Dr. Sharma catalogued the huge collection of miniature paintings preserved at Ram Nagar Fort, Varanasi in the collection of Maharaja Banaras under the supervision of Prof. R. Das Gupta. He was also assigned to catalogue a private Indian art collection while studying in Greece. In 1992, Dr. Sharma was called upon by the Hon. High Court Allahabad to organize a prestigious exhibition on the occation of its Post-Centenary Silver Jublee Celebrations. There he displayed photographs, rare documents and precious objects. In the words of the Hon’ble Justice Mr. S.K. Dhawan, the convener of the exhibition committee, ’Dr. Sharma has shown tremendous organizing capacity’ which made him an outstanding display expert. The author has published considerable number of research articles in different research journals of India as well as abroad.
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