Artwork

Untitled

Untitled is a watercolor painting. It dates from 1090 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The work depicts Buddhist subject matter, situating it within the corpus of early Indian religious paintings.

Untitled, dated 1090, is an opaque watercolor on palm leaf painting classified as religious art. The work depicts Buddhist subject matter, situating it within the corpus of early Indian religious paintings.

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art record, the piece belongs to a collection of Buddhist art from India and uses iconographic elements that convey core Buddhist teachings. Its creation in the late 11th century reflects the artistic expression of Buddhist doctrine in that period.

Technique & Style

This religious painting, created in India around 1090, utilizes opaque watercolor applied to a palm leaf support. The work measures 5.7 cm in height and 57 cm in width, presenting an elongated horizontal format characteristic of manuscript illustrations from this period. As a depiction of Buddhist themes, the piece relies on the specific textural qualities of the vegetal surface and the opacity of the pigments to render its iconography. The medium and support reflect traditional South Asian manuscript production techniques of the eleventh century.

History & Provenance

The work, an opaque watercolor on palm leaf, was created around 1090 in India, as indicated by its inception date. Its origins lie in religious Buddhist contexts, though no specific commissioning patron or original owner is recorded.

The painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is currently housed under accession number 55.121.36.10. No prior ownership history or intermediary collections have been documented for this piece.

Overview

This untitled painting, executed in opaque watercolor on a palm leaf, depicts a seated Buddha rendered in deep red and gold. The small, worn leaf suggests its age and original function. It represents a fragment of a larger sacred manuscript, where numerous such painted leaves would have been bound together.