The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 17, 2025

Vertically oriented painting of a white temple with square façade and roof rising in step-like levels in a pyramidal shape. Centered in the doorway, a goddess with light skin tone and six arms, each holding a weapon, faces us. In niches on either side, a monkey looks at her from our left and an orange, multi-armed elephant on a rat from our right. On a pedestal, left of the temple, a tiger faces the goddess.

Devi Shrine

c. 1810

Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Kingdom of Mandi

Gum tempera and gold on paper
31.8 x 24.1 cm (12 1/2 x 9 1/2 in.)
Gift of Nancy and Wayne Hunnicutt 2020.80
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The marble structure with floral inlay derived from Islamic architecture, though the shrine is Hindu.

Description

The sacred space of a Hindu shrine is separated from the everyday world by an enclosure wall. The mount of the goddess, a tiger, perches on a pedestal in front, gazing into the sanctum. On either side of the doorway are the monkey god Hanuman and the elephant-headed Ganesha seated on his mount, the rat. They ensure protection and success of a devotee’s worship.

This powerful six-armed goddess has been dressed and adorned as a living presence. She holds a different weapon in each hand. She offered protection from disease or malevolent forces that endanger children to her devotees.
  • ?–1972
    The Dowager Marchioness of Tweeddale, Marjorie Helen Wagg Nettlefold Hay [1899–1977], Scotland, consigned to Sotheby's
    July 11, 1972
    (Sotheby's, July 11, 1972 sale, lot 121)
    October 9, 2015
    (Christie's South Kensington, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, October 9, 2015 sale, lot 8, sold to Nancy and Wayne Hunnicutt)
    2015–2020
    Nancy and Wayne Hunnicutt, California, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2020–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Christie's South Kensington. Arts & Textiles of the Islamic & Indian Worlds. October 9, 2015. Lot 8.
  • Temples and Worship in South Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 14, 2024-March 9, 2025).
  • {{cite web|title=Devi Shrine|url=false|author=|year=c. 1810|access-date=17 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.80