A group of four folk paintings, Rajasthan and Bihar, 19th century

Ink and opaque watercolour on paper

B: Rossi 1998, p. 210, no. 94
C: Rossi 1998, p. 198, no. 85
D: Rossi 1998, p. 197, no. 84

A. In fair condition, folding mark along the vertical and horizontal axes causing creasing, creasing and minor loss along the extreme edges, small paper loss on top right, as viewed.
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The four folk paintings in this lot are as follows:

A: A map of a village with a fort and shrines, inscribed in Devanagari, Rajasthan, early 19th century
B: Shri Rama knowledge game board (Gyan Baji), inscribed in Devanagari, Rajasthan, late 18th-early 19th century.
This painting is divided into seventy-two labelled and numbered squares and is an example of the board used for playing the traditional Indian 'game of knowledge' gyan baji. The race to reach a spiritual goal of Vaikuntha (Vishnu's paradise) is achieved by rolling a die or cowries. There are also Jain and Muslim versions of this game, the Jain boards usually enclosed within a torso or architectural framework. The modern game of Snakes and Ladders is derived from the Indian format but has dispensed with the spiritual inscriptions and goal (Rossi 1998, pp. 210-211). 
C: A genealogy (vamsha vriksha) of the religious leader Vallabhacharya and his descendants, inscribed in Devanagari, Rajasthan, 19th century
D: A temple drawn entirely with Rama's name by a devotee to acquire religious merit and to use as a visual aid to meditation, probably Bihar, 19th century