Context (Related Documents)
Card Catalogue reads: 'Baked clay tablet depicting Nag Dev: Snake God, painted in orange, yellow, etc., with silver foil decoration; Good; Whole; Nag Dev; Snake God'.
Event Date
Author: maa

Context (Other)
According to information previously in the 'Source Year' field, The object entered the museum on the 25th of April 1988.
Event Date 25/4/1988
Author: Remke Velden

Context (Field collection)
Placed in the Temple of Gods (devra); Collected by: Unnithan.Maya in 25 4 1988: Molela Clay Tablets are produced by Hindu potters of Molela Village, the only village which produces these tablets; also in S. Rajasthan
Event Date 25/4/1988
Author: maa

Description (Physical description)
Clay tablet depicting the snake God, brightly coloured with silver foil highlights
Event Date 12/5/1988
Author: maa

Conservation (Remedial)
CON.2016.3501 | Remedial
Event Date 15/8/2016
Author: Kirstie Williams

Exhibition (Li Ka Shing Gallery)
EXH.2017.2 | Another India: Explorations and Expressions of Indigenous South Asia
Event Date 8/3/2017
Author: Remke Velden

Description (Display)
'Another India: Explorations and Expressions of Indigenous South Asia' 07/03/2017 - 22/04/2018 MAA exhibition label text reads:

Gods and heroes of the Girasia

The Girasia of southern Rajasthan share elements of Bhil culture, live in forest areas and speak a language that is part of the Bhil group. Many resist identification with Bhils, however, and the label ‘Adivasi’ altogether. The Girasia artefacts at MAA show a negotiation between ‘tribal’ and ‘non-tribal.’

Hilltop shrines called devra, maintained by kin groups, house clay tablets depicting folk heroes, Hindu gods and ‘tribal’ deities. The shrines face the direction ‘from which the gods come’: the town of Molela where these plaques are made by Hindu artisans, highlighting the entanglement of people across boundaries of identity.

3. Nag Dev

The snake god, nag dev, is revered by many Adivasis. He has a major role in the Bhil version of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, where he seduces Draupadi, the wife of the five Pandva princes.

Bhil. Molela, Rajasthan
Collected by Maya Unnithan, 1987
1988.271

Event Date 8/3/2017
Author: remke Velden

Description (Physical description)
Baked clay Molela tablet depicting the snake god ('Nag Dev'), possibly depicting the Hindu/Buddhist deity Vasuki. Painted in orange, yellow, etc., with silver foil decoration. The snake is depicted within an arch, which is painted multicoloured with two pillars making up the edge of the tablet.
Event Date 26/11/2018
Author: ashleigh griffin