The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 22, 2026

A vertically oriented tempera painting depicts Shiva, a light-skinned figure with hair piled high, seated cross-legged on a coiled white serpent atop a jeweled yellow throne. He wears a spotted leopard-skin wrap and snakes around his neck and hair. A trident with a small drum stands to our left. Behind him, rounded pinkish hills undulate beneath stylized green trees and a yellow sky. A thick red border frames the composition.

Shiva Seated on a Throne in a Landscape

c. 1755

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

gum tempera on paper
Page: 30.2 x 21.9 cm (11 7/8 x 8 5/8 in.); Image: 28.3 x 19.8 cm (11 1/8 x 7 13/16 in.)
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.113
Location: On view at The Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH, Feb 6, 2026 - Jun 7, 2026

Did You Know?

Shiva is clad in tiger hide wrapped around his waist.

Description

Shiva is depicted sitting on snakes coiled up together on a royal seat. The scene is set in a rocky mountainous setting with a row of trees in the background. In the paintings from Chamba, Shiva is usually depicted with a white complexion in three-quarter view. This formula has remained consistent for over a century with very few exceptions.
  • 1967–2001
    Ralph Benkaim [1914–2001], Beverly Hills, CA, by descent to his wife Catherine Glynn Benkaim
    2001–2018
    Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, partial sale and gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2018–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Griswold, William, Cameron Kitchin, Chase F. Robinson, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, and National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian Institution). Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories, edited by Sonya Rhie Mace, Sarang Sharma, and Vijay Sharma. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2026. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 178-179, no. 49
  • Longing: Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms, 1680 to 1820. The Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH (organizer) (February 6-June 7, 2026) https://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/exhibitions/longing-painting-from-the-pahari-kingdoms-of-the-northwest-himalayas/.
  • {{cite web|title=Shiva Seated on a Throne in a Landscape|url=false|author=|year=c. 1755|access-date=22 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.113