Artforms

The Traditions

Gond — No. 01
Pichwai — No. 01
Warli — No. 01
Pattachitra — No. 01
Bhil — No. 01

Gond

Forest narratives in dots & line

Region
Madhya Pradesh
Materials
Ink & acrylic on paper, canvas
Signature
Dots, dashes & fine infill
Themes
Nature, animals, folk tales

The painting tradition of the Gond community of Madhya Pradesh — from ritual wall patterns to canvases collected worldwide since the 1980s.

Explore Gond

Gond — No. 01
Gond — No. 05
Gond — No. 09
Gond — No. 13
Gond — No. 17
Gond — No. 21

Pichwai

Devotional cloth painting

Region
Nathdwara, Rajasthan
Materials
Mineral & stone colours, gold, on cloth
Signature
Meticulous detail & sacred iconography
Themes
Krishna, festivals, seasons, ritual

Richly detailed devotional paintings from Nathdwara, depicting Shrinathji, sacred rituals, and the changing imagery through vibrant imagery.

Explore Pichwai

Pichwai — No. 01
Pichwai — No. 04
Pichwai — No. 07
Pichwai — No. 10
Pichwai — No. 13
Pichwai — No. 16

Warli

Circle, triangle & line

Region
Maharashtra (Sahyadri)
Materials
White pigment on earthen / ochre ground
Signature
Circle, triangle & line
Themes
Ritual, harvest, dance, nature

A distinctive painting tradition of the Warli community of Maharashtra, where simple white forms come together to tell stories of everyday life, nature and community.

Explore Warli

Warli — No. 01
Warli — No. 02
Warli — No. 03
Warli — No. 04
Warli — No. 05
Warli — No. 06

Pattachitra

Ancient painting on cloth

Region
Odisha
Materials
Natural colours on treated cloth (patta)
Signature
Fine linework & ornate borders
Themes
Jagannath, Krishna, the epics

A centuries-old cloth-painting tradition from Odisha, where mythology unfolds through intricate line and colour.

Explore Pattachitra

Pattachitra — No. 01
Pattachitra — No. 02
Pattachitra — No. 03
Pattachitra — No. 04
Pattachitra — No. 05
Pattachitra — No. 06

Bhil

Stories told in dots

Region
MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra
Materials
Natural pigments & acrylic
Signature
Rhythmic multicoloured dotwork
Themes
Legend, ancestors, wildlife, village life

Painted by the Bhil communities of Central and Western India, in dotwork descended from the sacred Pithora wall tradition.

Explore Bhil

Bhil — No. 01
Bhil — No. 02
Bhil — No. 03
Bhil — No. 04
Bhil — No. 05
Bhil — No. 06

Behind every painting is a person, and a community

Every work we show is made entirely by hand, in a tradition that is still being practised. Here is how these paintings are built, who holds the knowledge, and how we work with the people who carry it.

How a painting is made

Most of these traditions begin long before the brush. Cloth is treated and burnished, or paper prepared; colour is ground from stone, earth and plant. The image is then built up in order — the outline first, then flat fields of colour, and last the dotwork, infill or fine linework that gives each tradition its signature. A single large work can take weeks, and almost none of it can be hurried.

Knowledge held together

These are communal practices as much as individual ones, sustained by villages, workshops and family lineages. Technique passes from parent to child and from master to apprentice, which is why a form stays recognisably itself across generations while every hand working inside it stays distinct. What looks like a style is really an inheritance.

How we work with artists

We buy directly from artists and workshops, visit them where they work, and agree terms openly. Provenance travels with the piece — who made it, where, and in which tradition — so a work arrives with its story intact rather than stripped away. Where an artist wants to be named and photographed, we present them properly.

Write to us