Santhal Pat or Story Scroll

Rows of marching figures give way to potters, a sleeper, and a woman with a very large fan.

This pat or story scroll is Santhal, from Bihar and Jharkhand, India, and dates to the 19th through the mid 20th century. It is painted paper. Santhal painters are generally described as making scrolls of this type to accompany spoken or sung stories, unrolled one panel at a time. Two rows of figures walk across the top in profile. Below, people stand among pots and plants, one lies stretched at rest, and a woman sits near a small group at the bottom. Black line and soft color keep each scene distinct. It is 7 inches wide by 31.3 long.

The cast is large and the paper is thin.