Kohbar

The wedding painting of Mithila, traditionally made on the wall of the room where the bride and groom spend their first nights.

Style: Kohbar
Size: A2 · 42 × 59.4 cm · 16.5 × 23.4 in
Medium: Acrylic and archival ink on cold-pressed cotton paper
Colours: Red on white

Price on requestAsk about availability · Original artwork, one of a kind

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About the painting

A Kohbar is the most important painting in a Mithila wedding. The women of the family paint it on the wall of the kohbar ghar, the bridal chamber, and the newly married couple sit before it during the wedding rituals.

This Kohbar is drawn in fine red line work on white. A ring of lotus circles fills the centre, with deities, fish and wedding figures around it, each one a blessing for the couple's life together. At A2 it is the largest work in the current collection.

What you are looking at

Fish: Fertility and good fortune for the new family
Lotus: Beauty, purity and the bride
Conch shell: Purity; it is blown at auspicious moments
Geometric bands: Order and protection around the couple

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