Sarasa with Figures, Birds, and Fantastic Animals late 17th-early 18th century India (Coromandel Coast), for the Japanese market This extremely rare sarasaIndian painted cotton produced for the Japanese marketoffers an Indian version of an Oriental fantasy. The unparalleled design includes whimsical figures and fanciful creatures in a lush forest. In each repeat, figures carry palanquins (covered litters) and hold umbrella canopies. The dark ground evokes late seventeenth-century Chinese lacquer screens. Its overtly Oriental flavor represents an Indian interpretation of chinoiserie, which itself developed from European reinterpretations of motifs found on decorative art objects imported from China.cat. no. 33. Sarasa with Figures, Birds, and Fantastic Animals 74423