Context (Field collection)
Placed in the Temple of Gods (devra); Exhibited: On display in ' New Acquisitions' , Maudslay Hall, CUMAA, from July 1990 to May 1993; Collected by: Unnithan.Maya in 1987: Molela Clay Tablets are produced by Hindu potters of Molela Village, the only village which produces these tablets; also in S. Rajasthan
Event Date 1987
Author: maa

Description (Physical description)
Molela clay tablet
Event Date 1988
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 (Related Documents)
Card Catalogue reads: 'Baked clay tablet depicting Dharam Raj: Mythic Hero (figure on horseback); Good; Whole; Dharam Raj; Mythic Hero; Figure on Horseback'.
Event Date 12/5/1988
Author: maa

Conservation (Surface Clean)
CON.2016.3497 | Surface Clean
Event Date 12/8/2016
Author: Rachel Howie

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.

4. Dharam Raj

The mythical hero, also known as Devnarayan was a warrior of the Gurjar people in North India, who fought against local Rajput rulers. He appears, always on horseback, on ‘hero stones’ across western India.

Bhil. Molela, Rajasthan
Collected by Maya Unnithan, 1987
1988.272

Event Date 8/3/2017
Author: remke Velden

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 (Physical description)
Baked clay tablet depicting Dharam Raj, otherwise called 'Devnarayan', who is a mythic hero. Mythology has it that he was an incarnation of Vishnu and he is worshipped as a folk deity, mostly in Rajasthan and north-western Madhya Pradesh. The tablet depicts a man on horseback, with numerous trappings on the animal. Painted in orange, yellow, green and black with decoration of silver foil.
Event Date 26/11/2018
Author: ashleigh griffin