Art Print – “Surya Ratha”: Suryadev's Chariot of Seven Horses

Provenance

'Surya Ratha' is a horizontal art print of Suryadev, the sun god, driving his chariot across the sky behind a team of seven galloping horses. In Hindu tradition Surya rides a chariot drawn by seven horses, and the print turns that image into a wide, rhythmic procession that runs the full width of the canvas, with the god enthroned at the right against a blazing red sun.

Surya sits crowned and haloed in the chariot, holding the reins in both hands, a red and teal scarf streaming behind him and a red pennant flying from the chariot's mast. The great wheel is worked as a red and gold lotus. Ahead of him the seven horses leap forward in an overlapping line, each a different colour, white, black, red, teal, gold, white and black again, and each dressed in jewelled bridles, tasselled collars and red saddle cloths. Golden rays fan out from the sun, and red ribbons of cloud stream across the sky.

Vermilion, gold, black, teal and cream make a rich, festive palette, with gold catching the rays, the harness and the wheel. The rolling arcs of red, gold and black along the base and the repeated forms of the horses give the print a strong sense of forward movement. It suits a long wall above a sofa, console or bed.