The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 24, 2024
The Goddess Kali (recto), from a Kalighat album
c. 1890
Secondary Support: 49.7 x 29.3 cm (19 9/16 x 11 9/16 in.); Painting only: 45.9 x 28 cm (18 1/16 x 11 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
Black-skinned, four-armed, her tongue out, and blood dripping from her mouth, Kali has a third eye—representative of enlightened or divine knowledge—on her forehead. Simultaneously benevolent and dangerous, she holds a sword and a demon’s severed head in two hands while the other two hands are in gestures of protection and blessing. This image would have been sold as a pilgrim souvenir to both locals and the colonial British around the Kalighat temple and is a replica of the image worshipped inside the temple. The frightening image of Kali especially fit into the colonial imagination and into Victorian popular culture and would have been an iconic souvenir/artifact to be shown to intrigued and horrified friends at home in England.- ?-2003William E. Ward [1922-2004], Solon, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art2003-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Indian Kalighat Paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 1-September 18, 2011).
- {{cite web|title=The Goddess Kali (recto), from a Kalighat album|url=false|author=|year=c. 1890|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2003.110.a