Difference between revisions 893489998 and 897732660 on enwiki

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox Historic Site
| name = Mattancherry Palace
| native_language = [[Malayalam]]
| image = Mattancherry Palace DSC 0899.JPG
| image_size = 250px
| caption = 
(contracted; show full)

The Dining Hall has carved wooden ornate ceiling decorated with a series of brass cups. The palace also contains rare examples of traditional Kerala flooring, which looks like polished black marble but is actually a mixture of burned coconut shells, charcoal, lime, plant juices
, and egg whites.<ref name = "Webindia"/>

==Murals==
[[File:Mattancherry palace murals.jpg|thumb|Several murals depicting Hindu religious art adorn the walls of the Palace.]]
The glory of the palace rests on the large number of murals, executed in the best traditions of Hindu temple art, which are religious, decorative and stylised. The murals have been painted in rich warm colours in tempera technique.<ref name = "Archaeology"/>

The king's bedchamber or ''Palliyara'', to the left of the entrance and occupying the southwest corner of the Palace, is noteworthy with its low wooden ceiling and {{convert|300|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of wall surface covered with about 48 paintings. These illustrate the ''[[Ramayana]]'', from the beginning of the sacrifice of [[Dasaratha]] to [[Sita]]'s return from captivity in [[Lanka]]. The paintings in this section are the earliest in the palace, dating back to the 16th century. The last five scenes are from the '[[Lilas of Krishna|Krishna Lila]]' where  in a cheerful God [[Krishna]] using his six hands and two feet to engage in foreplay with eight happy milkmaids.<ref name = "Webindia"/> The paintings are attributed to the artistic bent of mind of Veera Kerala Verma.<ref name = "Archaeology"/>

The upper staircase rooms, notably that of the coronation hall that was extended under Dutch patronage, contain some murals. The notable compositions in this section are - [[Lakshmi]] seated on the lotus, sleeping [[Vishnu]] (''Ananthasayanamurti''), [[Shiva]] and [[Parvati]] seated with [[Ardhanari]]swara and other goddesses, the coronation of [[Rama]], and Krishna lifting [[Govardhan hill|Mount Govardhana]].<ref name = "Webindia"/>

On the opposite side of the coronation hall is the staircase room or Kovinithalam (Room No II), with a descent to the lower storey, there are four paintings of Shiva, Vishnu and Devi, and one   incomplete. Room No. IV depict scenes from [[Kumarasambhava]]  and other works of the great [[Sanskrit]] poet [[Kālidāsa]].<ref name = "Webindia"/> The latter set of paintings belonging to the eighteenth century.<ref name = "Archaeology"/>

==Other exhibits==
Portraits of the Rajas of Cochin, from 1864 onwards, are displayed in what was once the Coronation Hall. These were painted by local artists in western style. The ceiling of the hall is decorated with floral designs in wood  craft.

Amongst the other exhibits in the palace are an ivory palanquin, a [[howdah]], royal umbrellas, ceremonial dress used by the royalty, coins, stamps and drawings. .<ref name = "Archaeology"/>

==Restoration==
(contracted; show full)

Situated in between the Mattancherry Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue is the [[Pazhayannur]] Bhagavathy Temple, the ancestral deity or ''Paradevata'' of the Cochin Royal Family. The temple with royal patronage which shares its wall with the Jewish synagogue tells volumes about the religious tolerance and inter
  cultural amity that existed during the time of the [[Kingdom of Cochin]].<ref>Ayub, Akber (ed), ''Kerala: Maps & More'', ''Fort Kochi & Mattancherry'',  2006 edition 2007 reprint, pp. 24-25, Stark World Publishing, Bangalore, {{ISBN|81-902505-2-3}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Mattancherry Palace}}

{{Kochi (India) topics}}
{{Tourism in Kerala|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Houses completed in 1555]]
[[Category:Palaces in Kochi]]
[[Category:Royal residences in India]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Kerala]]
[[Category:Museums in Kochi]]
[[Category:Monuments of National Importance in Kerala]]
[[Category:1555 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Mattancherry]]