Monday, February 27, 2012

Blossoms


Details, Mughal, Bodleian Library Collection.

5 comments:

Jane O Sullivan said...

hello I am so pleased to have found your blog , ever since I bought a tiny old v&a book on indian minatures I was hooked , they are a big source of inspiration to me and now I I am happy to have your blog to help me .Do you know much about vahanas ?

jeronimus said...

Hi Jane.
Glad you enjoyed looking at the blog.
The V&A Museum has a wonderful collection of Indian Miniatures. I bought a print from them not long ago.
The vahanas are the vehicles or mounts of the deities, usually animals with a symbolic meaning connected to the qualities of the deities, and the aspects of life they rule over.
The vahanas can represent both positive and negative aspects of existence.
An example is the rat/mouse vehicle of Shri Ganesha, Lord of Innocence and Wisdom. The small size of the rat, symbolises that wisdom comes from humility. Also, the rat can represent gnawing greed, which Shri Ganesha subdues in a person.
His brother, Shri Kartikeya, rides a peacock, representing splendour, but also pride which needs to be reigned-in.
Wikipedia has a fairly good article about them.

Jane O Sullivan said...

thank you jeronimus, I appreciate your reply , yes ,I like the idea of vahanas , I definately think that birds are ,look at the swallow in thumberlina. I am attracted to the deer and a white horse and am waiting patiently till they find their way to appear in my drawings ,also the swan....in a sort of vahana manner.
I find your blog via stille linde .Do you have a blog of your own work , or a flickr ?
good luck .

jeronimus said...

Hi Jane. I am based in Australia, and many of the birds here are very cheeky and loud, but beautiful too.
Jeronimus is my blogging moniker, I have a flickr for my paintings:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14867705@N08/page2/

barbara said...

Hi Jeronimus, I am delighted to discover your paintings!! They are incredibly beautiful. So precious. I love this natural combination of Christian and Indian Hindu imagery. The Shiva Temple and Uluru Shri Mataji & Ganesha are my favourites so far. Your own artwork deserves more attention in your blogs! Thank you for sharing this, Barbara