Untitled

Unknown

ca. 1875–80 · Lithographic print on paper · Asian Art

The goddess Durga, wielding an array of weapons in her ten arms, slays the buffalo demon Mahisha, who now reveals himself in human form. Durga plunges a trident (trisula) into his chest, whilst her lion mount (vahana) mauls his arm. To her left stands Lakshmi who holds two flowers while on the right stands Saraswati holding a vina. Dancing in the lower left is Ganesha with his rat vehicle at his feet, while to the right Skanda sits astride his peacock. The ensemble is framed by a decorative arch supported on fluted columns. An inset painted panel evokes Victorian architectural decoration in the academic manner, but with Hindu deities replacing classical philosophers and muses. This early and extremely rare monochromatic print was refashioned a decade later into a widely popular chromolithographic version by the Jubilee Art Studio in Calcutta.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1875–80

Medium

Lithographic print on paper

Culture

India, West Bengal, Calcutta

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Peter Louis and Chandru Ramchandani Gift, 2018