Artwork

A Traveler Persuades Lorik to Return Home (top); Chanda Objects (bottom), from a Chandayana (Story of Chanda)

A Traveler Persuades Lorik to Return Home (top); Chanda Objects (bottom), from a Chandayana (Story of Chanda) is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1535 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

The work, titled *A Traveler Persuades Lorik to Return Home (top); Chanda Objects (bottom), from a Chandayana (Story of Chanda)*, is a painted panel that presents two narrative episodes side by side. Each episode is framed as if it were a separate page in a manuscript, allowing the viewer to follow distinct moments from the same legend.

Subject & Meaning

One figure sits elevated, while the others stand, one holding a staff and the other a longer rod, implying a council deliberating a traveler’s return.

In the upper register, three figures gather before a throne that resembles a cloud, suggesting a divine or royal setting. One figure sits elevated, while the others stand, one holding a staff and the other a longer rod, implying a council deliberating a traveler’s return. The lower register shifts to a more intimate scene: a armored man seated while another kneels, presenting fruit and gesturing, indicating a plea or offering within the same narrative cycle.

Technique & Style

The painter employs a flat, compartmentalized composition typical of narrative panels, using clear outlines and bold coloration to separate the two scenes. Architectural elements such as striped tents and a pointed‑roofed palace appear in the background, rendered with simplified perspective, while the figures are stylized with exaggerated postures that convey their roles within the story.

History & Provenance

The panel belongs to a series illustrating the *Chandayana*, a traditional tale of the heroine Chanda. Though the exact date of creation is not specified, its stylistic traits align with South Asian courtly painting traditions that flourished in the early modern period. The work is currently held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Context

The *Chandayana* narrative was a popular subject for visual storytelling in manuscript and panel formats, often used to convey moral lessons about duty, hospitality, and the consequences of travel. By juxtaposing a public council scene with a private supplication, the artist highlights the interplay between communal decision‑making and personal persuasion within the legend.