The Monkey Leader Angada Steals Ravana's Crown from His Fortress: Folio from the Siege of Lanka series

The Monkey Leader Angada Steals Ravana's Crown from His Fortress: Folio from the Siege of Lanka series

Manaku

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This scene is described in Valmiki's Ramayana: "Then [Angada] the powerful son of Bali, scaled [Ravana's] palace up to its roof . . . the impact of his bounds caused it to crumble." The great monkey warrior Angada is shown four times: leaping over the ramparts and casting down demons, stealing Ravana's crown, flying though the air to return to Rama's camp, and attending the crowning of Vibhishana, the rightful ruler of Lanka. The recovery of the crown does not feature in the Ramayana text and appears to have been invented by the artist to give visual authority to Rama, seen here fulfilling his divine mission to restore virtuous rule to the world. This Ramayana series was never finished. In this folio the color had been blocked in but details are lacking; other folios from the series exist only as ink-brush drawings.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Monkey Leader Angada Steals Ravana's Crown from His Fortress: Folio from the Siege of Lanka seriesThe Monkey Leader Angada Steals Ravana's Crown from His Fortress: Folio from the Siege of Lanka seriesThe Monkey Leader Angada Steals Ravana's Crown from His Fortress: Folio from the Siege of Lanka seriesThe Monkey Leader Angada Steals Ravana's Crown from His Fortress: Folio from the Siege of Lanka seriesThe Monkey Leader Angada Steals Ravana's Crown from His Fortress: Folio from the Siege of Lanka series

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.