The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Devi

600s–700s

Nepal

gilt bronze
Overall: 15.5 cm (6 1/8 in.)
Gift of George P. Bickford 1983.153
Location: Not on view

Description

Exuding power and grace this diminutive image of a goddess is one of the earliest surviving bronze sculptures from Nepal. Her broad hips and simple, elegant garments and jewelry barely interrupt the contours of her form. Her lowered right hand, in the gift-giving gesture, holds a fruit, and her left hand once held the stem of a flower.
  • ?–1983
    George Bickford [1901–1991] and Clara Louise Gehring Bickford [1903–1985], Cleveland Heights, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1983–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Kramrisch, Stella. The Art of Nepal. New York: Distributed by H.N. Abrams, 1964. no. 4
    Pal, Pratapaditya. The Arts of Nepal. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1974. Reproduced: part 1, pl. 218
    Pal, Pratapaditya. Buddhist Art in Licchavi Nepal. Bombay: Marg Publications: Published for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1974. Reproduced: fig. 82
    Czuma, Stanislaw J. Indian Art from the George P. Bickford Collection: Catalog. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975. Mentioned: cat. no. 26; Reproduced: cover and cat. no. 26
    Schroeder, Ulrich von. Indo-Tibetan Bronzes. 1st ed. Hong Kong, Glattbrugg, Switzerland: Visual Dharma Publications; Sole distributor, Nanda Distribution, 1981. Mentioned: p. 306, no. 75G; Reproduced: p. 307, no. 75G
    Turner, Evan H. “Year in Review for 1983.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 71, no. 2 (1984): 38–79. Mentioned: p. 77, no. 245; Reproduced: p. 59, no. 245 www.jstor.org
    Reedy, Chandra L. Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style, and Choices. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1997. Reproduced: p. 221, fig. N222
    Takac Panza, Jane. "Mr. Bickford's Asian Adventures", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 46 no. 05, May/June 2006 Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 12 archive.org
  • The Year in Review for 1983. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 22-April 8, 1984).
    Indian Art from the George P. Bickford Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 14-February 16, 1975).
  • {{cite web|title=Devi|url=false|author=|year=600s–700s|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.153