The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 4, 2023

Durga Slaying Mahisha

c. 1830

India, Pahari, Sirmur, 19th century

Gum tempera and gold on paper

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.)

Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1955.667

Location

not on view

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.

Provenance
A. Coomaraswamy
Margaret F. Marcus, Cleveland, OH
A. Coomaraswamy; Margaret F. Marcus, Cleveland, OH.
Citations
Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. Rajput Painting. London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1916. Reproduced: vol. 2: pl. LXVIII
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 774 archive.org
Lee, Sherman E. and George Montgomery. Rajput Painting; with an introductory essay and catalogue notes. New York: Asia House, 1960. Reproduced: p. 82-83; plate 78
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 240 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 240 archive.org
Lee, Sherman E. A History of Far Eastern Art. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1973. no. 282
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 310 archive.org
Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986. cat. no. 132
Exhibition history

Rajput Painting. Asia House, New York, NY (December 3, 1960-January 22, 1961).

Main Gallery Rotation (Gallery 242B). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 6-November 7, 2016).

Rajput Painting. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (November 30, 1960-January 22, 1961).

The Art of India. Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (organizer) (April 7-30, 1961).

Sacred India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5, 1985-January 12, 1986).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1955.667