Vintage Thai Temple Rubbing on Rice Paper: Sita in Ashoka Vatika (20.5” x 22.5”)

Original temple rubbings of this quality are rare. Original temple rubbings from Thailand are even more rare now as the Thai government has banned the practice of making them directly from temple walls.
 
We believe this dark orange and black temple rubbing on rice paper is of a scene from the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Indian Ramayana. According to the epic, after Nang Sida is abducted by Ravana, she chooses to stay in the Ashoka Vatika under a tree, rather than Ravana’s palace. The Ashoka Vatika is described as a beautiful garden withs flowers, fruits and birds. In this scene, she may be imploring Ravana to release her to return her to Rama. So romantic though it appears, it is not in fact a romantic scene. But if you didn’t read this, you wouldn’t know that so pretend you didn’t!
 
This is one of several our mother probably purchased while passing through Thailand in 1968 or upon moving there in 1969 as the practice of creating temple rubbings with crayons on handmade rice paper direct from temple walls was banned in the late 1960s or early 1970s. 
 
It is in excellent condition for its age, with but one corner of the well preserved handmade rice paper folded over. We believe it has been rolled up for decades, never used.
 
H 20 1/2” x L 22 1/2”
 
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.