The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Devi Attacking a Demon

Devi Attacking a Demon

c. 1630
Image: 12.5 x 10.2 cm (4 15/16 x 4 in.); Overall: 12.5 x 27.5 cm (4 15/16 x 10 13/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

The horizontal format of this sacred text is derived from the earlier use of palm leaves instead of paper. This page is from the foundational work of scripture for worshippers of the great goddess Devi.

In her warrior aspect, or incarnation, Devi is multiarmed, rides a lion, and conquers demons more powerful than all the male gods. The demon holding a mountain above his head as a missile is dressed in the Central Asian belted tunic and pants of the Mughals, who ruled most of India at the time this painting was made. Devi wears the Mughal women’s style of tall flat-topped feathered headdress, and she holds a bottle and cup of liquor. Aside from these Mughal elements, the style remains staunchly indigenous, with unmodeled figures in strict profile against a flat red ground.
  • ?–1968
    George P. Bickford [1901-1991] and Clara Louise Gehring Bickford [1903-1985], Cleveland Heights, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1968–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 94
  • Main Gallery Rotation (Gallery 242B). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 6–November 7, 2016).
    Year in Review: 1968. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-March 9, 1969).
  • {{cite web|title=Devi Attacking a Demon|url=false|author=|year=c. 1630|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1968.72