Santhal Pat or Story Scroll

Three crowned figures stand in a row, with a fourth sketched faintly above them like an afterthought.

This pat or story scroll is Santhal, from Bihar / Jharkhand, India, and dates to the 19th / mid 20th century. It is painted paper. Santhal scrolls are usually associated with itinerant painter-storytellers who unrolled them frame by frame while singing. The top frame shows three figures with tall crowns and gold-washed robes, the central one seated on a lotus. Below come cattle, birds and small figures, then a frame of men and women among plants, and a long-necked dragon-like beast. It is 226 inches wide and 7 high.

A long story, told one panel at a time, and in no particular hurry.