Handpainted – Pattachitra – Jagannath Within the Dashavatara Lotus

Provenance

'Jagannath Within the Dashavatara Lotus' is a Pattachitra painting from Odisha centred on the face of Jagannath, the presiding deity of Puri and the heart of the Pattachitra tradition. His image sits at the centre of a lotus, while the ten avatars of Vishnu line the arched niches above and below, linking the deity to the wider story of Vishnu's incarnations.

Jagannath's black face, with its great round eyes, red mouth and the tilak on his brow, fills a central disc ringed in pink. Around him, twelve yellow petals each hold a small scene of figures, enclosed by a green band and a ring of pink lotus petals. Above, five niches show the fish, the tortoise, the boar, Narasimha and Vamana; below, five more show an axe-bearer, an archer, a figure with a plough, a seated figure on a brick altar and a rider on a white horse.

Pink, yellow, blue and terracotta create a bright, festive palette, with the black and red of Jagannath's face as its strongest note. A blue border with fine white script and an outer border of swirling motifs and roundels frame the painting. It is a joyful, devotional piece for a prayer room, an entrance or a living room.