Scenes from the Thiri Rama, the Burmese adaptation of the Ramayana

Scenes from the Thiri Rama, the Burmese adaptation of the Ramayana

U Paw Hnyun

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This spectacularly large appliqué textile depicts scenes from the Burmese version of the Ramayana, the Thiri Rama. It belongs to a little-studied tradition of Burmese pictorial textile art that appears to have undergone a major revival in the final decades of the Konbaung dynasty, during the reigns of King Mindon (r. 1853–78) and his son, Thibaw Min (r. 1878–85), the last kings of Myanmar. These pictorial hangings became known as kalaga, which is an abbreviated corruption of the Burmese word kant-lant-kar, referring to a horizontal partition or screen. The scenes are inspired by the Burmese rendering of the Ramayana, which differs from both the Siamese versions from which it is immediately derived and from Valmiki's Sanskrit original. Rather than present a single narrative, however, the textile depicts selected highlights that focus on the most beloved moments in the narrative. The principal characters of the drama, Rama, Sita and Ravana, appear multiple times. The kalaga is inscribed as the work of ‘the respected master [artist] U Paw Hnyun.’

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Scenes from the Thiri Rama, the Burmese adaptation of the RamayanaScenes from the Thiri Rama, the Burmese adaptation of the RamayanaScenes from the Thiri Rama, the Burmese adaptation of the RamayanaScenes from the Thiri Rama, the Burmese adaptation of the RamayanaScenes from the Thiri Rama, the Burmese adaptation of the Ramayana

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.