Untitled

Unknown

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

The goddess Matangi is one of the ten Mahavidyas, the tantric personifications of transcendent wisdom which each express a different facet of Devi, the supreme goddess. Matangi is considered as an esoteric form of Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning, and so governs speech, music, knowledge and the arts. She is invoked to acquire supernatural powers, especially for gaining control over one's enemies, acquiring mastery over the arts and ultimately attaining supreme knowledge. Her complex persona and evolution also associate her with pollution, inauspiciousness and unclean food (according to one myth, scraps from Shiva’s table from which she was born). Matangi’s name suggests a connection with tribal forest dwellers and those who dwell on the peripheries of Hindu society.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1880–85

Medium

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

Culture

West Bengal, Calcutta

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Robert and Bobbie Falk Philanthropic Fund Gift, 2021