Rama

Dimensions: 32cm high, 9cm wide
Code: CLAY 1721

Vintage terracotta bommai of Rama from Tamil Nadu from the 1930s/40s. Rama is the hero of the Ramayana, the ancient Sanskrit epic. He is regarded as an exemplary prince and ideal man, known for his honour, bravery and compassion as well as being extremely handsome. Rama is an avatar of the supreme Hindu god Vishnu, preserver and protector of the universe, who takes an earthly form when he is needed to restore balance to the world. Rama is seen here holding an arrow in his right hand, and a bow in his left. He is adorned with a gold crown and several necklaces. He also wears a flower garland around his neck. Peeking over his right shoulder and held with a strap across his chest is a quiver filled with arrows.

Bommai are figures used for the display of dolls and figurines that takes place in South India during the Hindu festival of Navaratri, which is a nine-day festival celebrating the victory of good over evil. In Southern India the bommai are presented in the home on tier shelves, and friends and neighbours are invited to visit to view the displays and exchange gifts and sweets. There is evidence of this tradition dating back to the fourteenth century. Today, the exhibits are typically thematic, narrating a legend from a Hindu text or a secular cultural issue. The dolls are collected and passed on from one generation to another as an heirloom and new figures are added each year. These terracotta figures are also known as Kolu, Gombe Habba, Bommai Kolu, Bommalu Kolueru or Bommala Koluvu.