Hanuman before Rama and Lakshmana. Culture: India (Punjab Hills, Mankot). Dimensions: 8 x 12 1/8 in. (20.3 x 30.8 cm). Date: ca. 1710-25.When Hanuman, as the messenger of Sugriva, first encounters Rama and Lakshmana, he assumes the form and aspect of a sage. After much discussion a pact of friendship is decided upon and Hanuman returns to his natural monkey form. This moment was chosen, as Hanuman's disguise would have confused the viewer; moreover this portrayal allowed the artist to emphasize his role as a general of the great monkey army. The Mankot Ramayana series (see also Lakshmana and Sugriva Being Carried by Palanquin to Receive Rama's Blessings) focuses on Rama's exile in the forest; the heroes are depicted in the attire of forest dwellers--leaf shirts and hats--and the landscape is rendered in green. The narrow skyline is broken by jagged storm clouds, descendents of the Persian clouds introduced 150 years earlier. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.