Detail: This exhibition explores the many meanings of India’s scaly, feathery, and furry inhabitants, both natural and supernatural, in a rich collection of the Museum's ‘miniature’ paintings.
Animals—from ants to owls, cranes to crocodiles—populate India’s art. Rather than merely being part of the landscape, however, they almost always play specific roles whether as characters in a story, symbols, or poetic metaphors.
Fantastic and Functional Animals in Indian Art draws from the Museum’s rich collection of ‘miniature’ paintings to explore the many meanings of India’s scaly, feathery, and furry inhabitants, both natural and supernatural.