Artwork Page for Durga Slaying Mahisha

Details / Information for Durga Slaying Mahisha

Durga Slaying Mahisha

c. 1830

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Medium
Gum tempera and gold on paper
Measurements
Image: 15.8 x 25.3 cm (6 1/4 x 9 15/16 in.); Overall: 17.7 x 27.5 cm (6 15/16 x 10 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1955.667
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

According to the text dedicated to the exploits of the great goddess Devi in her various forms, there was a time in the mythic past when a buffalo demon was ravaging the world. Storm clouds swirl above and dust below him. The goddess in her warrior aspect in which she is named Durga rides a chariot pulled by two leonine tigers with blue skies and flowering trees above her. The two are about to clash in a bloody battle that will take place on the gently sloping hillside evocative of the western Himalayan foothills where this painting was made.
A horizontal gum tempera and gold painting depicts a green landscape featuring a massive white rock. Charging from our right, Durga, a light-skinned woman with many arms, rides a chariot pulled by two tigers toward the black buffalo Mahisha on our left. Surrounding the chariot, fourteen light-skinned figures carry shields and axes as Durga brandishes weapons in her multiple hands. A black floral border frames the image, which displays surface wear.

Durga Slaying Mahisha

c. 1830

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

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