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| Tanjore plates | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tanjore plates |
| Origin | Thanjavur |
| Period | Chola dynasty |
| Material | Gold leaf, stone, wood |
| Culture | Tamil Nadu |
Tanjore plates are decorative metal and painted art objects produced in and around Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu during periods including the Chola dynasty, Vijayanagara Empire and British Raj. These works combine figural representation, gem-setting, and relief techniques derived from temple patronage tied to courts such as the Maratha Empire and institutions like the Brihadeeswarar Temple. Collectors and museums in cities such as London, Paris, New York City and Chennai have long exhibited them alongside objects from the Deccan Sultanates, Mysore Kingdom and Madras Presidency.
Production of these plates traces to patronage systems under the Chola dynasty and later commissions by the Nayak dynasty and Maratha Empire in Thanjavur district. Workshops responded to shifts after contact with the Portuguese Empire and the British East India Company, supplying households, Hinduism temples, and colonial collectors. Archaeological finds and inventories from the Madras Presidency and catalogues held by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum document stylistic transitions through the 18th century and 19th century.
Artisans used wood panels sourced from regional forests near Kumbakonam and Tanjore then coated with a gesso of chalk and adhesive before applying gold leaf and glass crystals. Relief was modelled using materials comparable to techniques seen in Rajasthani painting and Kalamkari production; artisans sometimes fixed semi-precious stones like turquoise and carnelian under influence from trade networks linking Gujarat and Persia. Surface pigments included natural dyes of the type used by painters of the Mughal Empire and tempera that echoed methods in Vijayanagara painting.
Subjects commonly depict deities from Shaivism and Vaishnavism pantheons—iconic portrayals related to Shiva, Vishnu, Lakshmi, and Saraswati—as well as scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Compositional motifs reflect sculptural programs of the Brihadeeswarar Temple and narrative panels found in shrines at Srirangam and Meenakshi Amman Temple. Borders and cartouches borrow ornament from Chola bronzes and metalwork traditions associated with the Pallava dynasty and Satavahana metalworkers.
Distinct schools emerged in Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, and peripheral towns influenced by regional courts like the Nayaks of Madurai and the Pudukkottai State. Coastal trade introduced motifs resembling Kutch enamelwork and Bengal patachitra, while interior workshops show affinities with Mysore painting and Hyderabad jewellery. Variants include gilt-relief devotional panels, smaller portable plaques for Sri Vaishnava households, and larger temple-scale retables commissioned by Maratha rulers of Thanjavur Maratha kingdom.
These plates served as household shrines, procession standards and temple offerings in rites associated with festivals like Pongal and Navaratri. They functioned alongside ritual objects such as Nataraja bronzes and processional icons from the Tiruvarur and Kumbakonam temple complexes. Patronage by families linked to institutions like the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya and royal households reinforced social status, mirroring devotional practices recorded in Tamil literature and temple records maintained by local mutts and trusts.
Workshops often operated as hereditary guilds aligned with caste-linked artisan networks found across Tamilakam; names of master craftsmen appear in colonial-era probate inventories overseen by the Madras Presidency. Production combined carpentry, gesso modelling and gilding stages executed by specialist teams comparable to guild structures documented for Textile guilds in Surat and metalworkers in Ahmedabad. Some ateliers later adapted to produce secular decorative objects for the British Raj market and export houses in Bombay and Calcutta.
Collections of these works are held by institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum, New Delhi and private collectors in Mumbai and London. Conservation challenges include flaking of gold leaf, insect damage to wooden supports and deterioration of organic adhesives—issues addressed by conservation labs following protocols used at the Getty Conservation Institute and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. The market for antiques surged during the 19th century Orientalist trade and persists among collectors of South Asian art and liturgical artefacts, with auction houses in Christie's and Sotheby's periodically offering prominent examples.
Category:Indian art Category:Thanjavur