Untitled

Unknown

ca. 1880–85 · Lithograph, printed in black with hand-coloring with watercolor and selectively applied glaze · Asian Art

This remarkable image has all the trappings of the goddess Kali but is named as the mahavidya Tara, a personification of the transcendent wisdom who guides devotees to salvation (moksha), protecting them on their journey. She is also worshipped as the source of divine energy including the power of the sun. Iconographically she is distinguished from Kali was her dark blue complexion and a swelling stomach indicating her pregnant state. In other respects, they share much, both being four-armed and wielding two butchering blades, wearing a garland of severed human heads and striding on the prostrate body of Shiva. However, unlike Kali she displays a white lotus and a skull cap (kapala) in her other hands. While Kali favors charnel grounds, Tara is depicted here in lushly forested mountain terrain. A garland of skulls and rising cobra atop her disheveled hair, together with a silver crescent month in her radiant nimbus, underscore her close allegiance to Shiva.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1880–85

Medium

Lithograph, printed in black with hand-coloring with watercolor and selectively applied glaze

Culture

West Bengal, Calcutta

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Robert and Bobbie Falk Philanthropic Fund Gift, 2021