Artwork Page for Kali attacking Nisumbha

Details / Information for Kali attacking Nisumbha

Kali attacking Nisumbha

c. 1740

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Medium
Gum tempera and gold on paper
Measurements
Image: 22 x 33 cm (8 11/16 x 13 in.); Overall: 23.7 x 35.2 cm (9 5/16 x 13 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1968.44
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The powerful black Hindu goddess Kali effortlessly slays an eight-armed spotted green demon with an impossibly long trident. His chariot horses and two minions lie incapacitated below. Kali’s tongue lolls out, indicating her ability to catch blood before it touches the ground: one of her demonic enemies has blood that generates another demon every time one drop comes in contact with the earth. The demon is a metaphor for wicked thoughts that give rise to more evil thoughts; Kali aids her followers in eradicating them all.
A horizontal gum tempera and gold painting features a black-skinned, four-armed goddess with white hair and a garland of figures riding a large orange tiger. She thrusts a spear into a green-skinned, multi-armed demon reclining in a chariot; both stick out pink tongues. Below, two fallen white horses and two small dark figures lie on green ground. The scene is set against flat tan beneath a strip of blue sky.

Kali attacking Nisumbha

c. 1740

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

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