Mahabharata Oleograph Print – Karna and the Stuck Chariot Wheel Framed

A rare framed lithographic print from early 20th-century Mumbai. It shows a dramatic Mahabharata battlefield scene under a rain of arrows, and it carries the original copyright and publisher marks.

This framed print is a piece of Indian popular art from the early 1900s. It appears to show the moment on the Kurukshetra battlefield when Karna’s chariot wheel sinks into the earth. Karna, kneeling beside the wheel, raises his hand to ask for a pause. Across the field, a rival chariot with a dark-complexioned charioteer waits, and armies with golden umbrellas and raised spears look on. Volleys of arrows fill the sky.

The print is in rich greens, golds and warm oranges, with the fine detail typical of colour lithographs of this period. The bottom margin has the original printed details:

• “Copyright 1912”
• “Registered No. 261”
• Publisher: Anant Shivaji Desai, Motibazar, Mumbai
• Printed at R.U. & V. Press, Ghatkopar

It comes in an aged wooden frame with its original glass, and the age shows in the wood and in the print itself. It would suit collectors of Indian lithographs and religious prints, or anyone decorating with vintage Indian art.

Details

• Era: Copyright dated 1912
• Subject: Scene from the Mahabharata (Karna Parva)
• Medium: Colour lithograph / oleograph print on paper
• Framing: Wooden frame with glass