Skip to Main Content

Das Avataras, Ten Incarnations of Vishnu (verso), from a Kalighat album

c. 1890
(Indian, active late 1800s)
Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat
Woodcut, hand colored with gum tempera
Secondary Support: 29.9 x 48.5 cm (11 3/4 x 19 1/8 in.); Painting only: 28.3 x 42.7 cm (11 1/8 x 16 13/16 in.)
Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward 2003.114.b
Location: not on view
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Did You Know?

The hero Rama is can be seen in the lower register, second from left, with his wife Sita and devotee Hanuman.

Description

This hastily hand-colored woodcut depicts a set of ten avatars, or incarnations, of the Hindu god Vishnu as recognized in 1800s Bengal. In each avatar, Vishnu descended to earth in order restore balance and order to the world. In the top register, from left to right, are Vishnu’s avatars as fish, tortoise, boar, man-lion, and Brahmin. Below are Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Jagannath, and Kalki. The image of Rama shows him after his victory over the demon Ravana. He sits with Sita, crowned, holding bow and arrow. His monkey general Hanuman stands before him in a gesture of adoration.
Das Avataras, Ten Incarnations of Vishnu (verso), from a Kalighat album

Das Avataras, Ten Incarnations of Vishnu (verso), from a Kalighat album

c. 1890

Shri Gobinda Chandra Roy

(Indian, active late 1800s)
Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat

See Also

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.