Lot 114
A TANTRIC DRAWING OF HANUMAN
INDIA, 18TH CENTURY
Auction: 10 June 2026 from 14:00 BST
Description
ink and watercolour on paper, depicting the many different faces of Lord Hanuman, holding weapons and items of worship symbolising his role both as a warrior and a devotee, glazed and framed
Dimensions
36.4cm x 27.2cm
Provenance
Formerly, private collection, London,
Footnote
Hanuman is a central Hindu deity celebrated for his strength, devotion, and heroic role in the Ramayana, but he is also a figure whose appearance shifts across traditions, reflecting the many ways people understand him. Sometimes he is shown as a playful monkey‑child, sometimes as a powerful warrior with pronounced animal features, and sometimes as a more human‑like devotee who opens his chest to reveal Rama and Sita within. These changing faces come from his origins among the vanaras a semi‑divine forest people depicted with both human and animal traits and from the diverse cultural, regional, and spiritual meanings he has carried over centuries.