Procession of Carriages Carrying Booty: Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana Manuscript

Unknown Artist

Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Metropolitan Museum of Art

This vibrant folio captures a lively procession of ox-drawn carriages and mounted riders, rendered in bold flat colors of coral, ochre, and slate blue against a dense floral ground. Four spotted and mottled oxen pull canopied carts laden with treasure, while armed attendants on horseback flank the scene below, their spears and swords hinting at a tale of conquest from the Hindu epic Bhagavata Purana. The anonymous artist worked in the folk-inflected style typical of regional Indian manuscript painting, favoring energetic pattern and narrative clarity over naturalistic space. A charming piece of storytelling art, it brings centuries-old devotional literature vividly to life and would lend warm, exotic color to any wall.