Vertical painting of birds and flowering plants
early 21st century
The Khovar style within Adivasi painting is completed during spring, which coincides with the marriage season. Using a black-and-white color scheme and depicting nature themes, Khovar-style works were traditionally used to decorate marriage chambers and in matrimonial ceremonies. The style’s techniques have been passed down from mothers to daughters, and they are related to the comb-cut practices seen in ceramic decorations. Spring, love, and ceramics are all referenced in this painting through the presence of a flower, a bird couple, and a ceramic vase.
Khovar black-and-white comb-cut sgraffito on paper
Painting: 30 1/4 x 22 1/2 in. (76.8 x 57.2 cm)
Mat: 34 1/4 x 26 in. (87 x 66 cm)
Gift of Joseph E. Reid and Batya Friedman
2022.30.14
Provenance: The artist (Tribal Women Artists Cooperative, Hazaribagh, India); gifted and sold, via Bulu Iman (Founder, Tribal Women Artists Cooperative), to Joseph Reid (d. 2016), Winthrop, Washington, 2008; bequeathed to Batya Friedman, Seattle, Washington, 2016; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2022
Photo: Scott Leen
