The Boats and Ships in the Indian Paintings: Examining the Commercial and Domestic Aspects in Maritime Activities
Dublin Core
Title
The Boats and Ships in the Indian Paintings: Examining the Commercial and Domestic Aspects in Maritime Activities
Description
Paintings are visual artefacts and one of the significant art narratives supplemented as a primary source in the
construction or reconstruction of social and cultural lifeways of different periods since the Early Historic
period—for example, the murals of Ajanta, Cholas, Vijayanagara, and the Mughal School of paintings. Among
the diverse visual content, the Indian paintings consist of the depiction of the relationship between the water and
humans in the forms of navigation activities through boats and ships of various kinds. Such images are further
connected with social and economic aspects, which need to be examined and analysed to differentiate between
domestic and commercial functioning. The analysis has been much on identifying trade-related activities and
largely has ignored the other side of the social construct with the paintings bearing the marine activities. For
example, the sailors and pilgrimage are on the riverside temples, and the boats and sailors in recreational
activities. Which have been lesser known and studied. In this paper, the paintings in the collections of museums
in Bihar shall be examined to narrate the visual craftsmanship surrounding the identity of boats and ships in
detail, including but not limited to their forms/ models, designs, and their functions. Further, they are
categorically examined and studied for commercial (interstate trades) or private uses (personal rides). The
paintings in Rajput, Mughal, Patna Kalam, Boondi, Pahadi, Rajasthani, Kagada and Delhi School of Art,
representing the beautiful boats and ships in different fabrics and shapes, are the focus of this study.
This paper is well fitted to session-29 because of the discussion on the riverine craft and associated
activities. The paper deals with riverine craft i.e. boats and ships, which are illustrated on paintings of Rajput
school of art, Patna school of art and Banaras school of art. Boats and ships are the obligatory part of marine
activities and this paper well describes the function of boats along with design and discussion of similar riverine
craft in ancient text.
construction or reconstruction of social and cultural lifeways of different periods since the Early Historic
period—for example, the murals of Ajanta, Cholas, Vijayanagara, and the Mughal School of paintings. Among
the diverse visual content, the Indian paintings consist of the depiction of the relationship between the water and
humans in the forms of navigation activities through boats and ships of various kinds. Such images are further
connected with social and economic aspects, which need to be examined and analysed to differentiate between
domestic and commercial functioning. The analysis has been much on identifying trade-related activities and
largely has ignored the other side of the social construct with the paintings bearing the marine activities. For
example, the sailors and pilgrimage are on the riverside temples, and the boats and sailors in recreational
activities. Which have been lesser known and studied. In this paper, the paintings in the collections of museums
in Bihar shall be examined to narrate the visual craftsmanship surrounding the identity of boats and ships in
detail, including but not limited to their forms/ models, designs, and their functions. Further, they are
categorically examined and studied for commercial (interstate trades) or private uses (personal rides). The
paintings in Rajput, Mughal, Patna Kalam, Boondi, Pahadi, Rajasthani, Kagada and Delhi School of Art,
representing the beautiful boats and ships in different fabrics and shapes, are the focus of this study.
This paper is well fitted to session-29 because of the discussion on the riverine craft and associated
activities. The paper deals with riverine craft i.e. boats and ships, which are illustrated on paintings of Rajput
school of art, Patna school of art and Banaras school of art. Boats and ships are the obligatory part of marine
activities and this paper well describes the function of boats along with design and discussion of similar riverine
craft in ancient text.
Creator
Vishi Upadhyay
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
2023
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
Upadhyay, Vishi . 2023. “The Boats and Ships in the Indian Paintings: Examining the Commercial and Domestic Aspects in Maritime Activities.” Edited by Jennifer Craig, Jay Mok, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Arjun Rao. In Proceedings of Fifth Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Gwangju, The Republic of Korea, November 13-18 2023. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology. URL: https://apconf.omeka.net/exhibits/show/apconfproceedings/item/2028
Files
Citation
Vishi Upadhyay, “The Boats and Ships in the Indian Paintings: Examining the Commercial and Domestic Aspects in Maritime Activities,” Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage Proceedings, accessed October 12, 2026, https://apconf.omeka.net/items/show/2028.