Celebrating Asian Art

Asia Week New York: Autumn 2021 online exhibition

In the 1970s, a collection of Woodcut prints of 19th century Calcutta were recreated under the leadership of Gopal Dutta of Bengal Art Company; commissioned by Ashit Paul using the original woodblock cutting and printing technique. These Battala woodblocks were adapted from the original 19th-century prints, found in the collection of the V&A, London and the VMH, Kolkata. This technique has now become obsolete as the traditional artisans and printing presses working with the technique no longer survive. These prints depict scenes from Indian mythologies with the gods and goddesses as part of the visual narrative. This exhibition of limited edition prints showcases the remnants of a lost art form from 19th century Bengal.