The Goddess Bhadrakali Manifests in a Sunlike Orb
From a manuscript of the Tantric Devi, stories of the goddess Devi
Artist/maker unknown, Indian
Geography:
Made in Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia
or made in Basohli, Jammu and Kashmir, India, Asia
Date:
c. 1660-1670Medium:
Opaque watercolor, gold, silver-colored paint, and beetle-wing cases on paperDimensions:
Image: 7 11/16 × 7 1/4 inches (19.5 × 18.4 cm) Sheet: 8 3/4 × 8 7/16 inches (22.2 × 21.4 cm)Curatorial Department:
South Asian ArtObject Location:
2004-149-22Credit Line:
125th Anniversary Acquisition. Alvin O. Bellak Collection, 2004
Made in Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia
or made in Basohli, Jammu and Kashmir, India, Asia
Date:
c. 1660-1670Medium:
Opaque watercolor, gold, silver-colored paint, and beetle-wing cases on paperDimensions:
Image: 7 11/16 × 7 1/4 inches (19.5 × 18.4 cm) Sheet: 8 3/4 × 8 7/16 inches (22.2 × 21.4 cm)Curatorial Department:
South Asian ArtObject Location:
Currently not on view
Accession Number:2004-149-22Credit Line:
125th Anniversary Acquisition. Alvin O. Bellak Collection, 2004
Label:
The Great Goddess (Devi), worshiped across India, has many names and many forms. Here, Devi appears at the core of a gleaming golden sun that shines from a templelike frame. In the late seventeenth to early eighteenth century, painters from Himachal Pradesh sometimes pasted little pieces of the shell of iridescent beetles onto their paintings as additional ornamentation. This precious substance-combined with the lavish use of gold and bright, rare pigments-made these works luxury goods in their own right. This painting is the first page of a spectacular series that reveals the multiplicity of the Great Goddess through both words and images.
The Great Goddess (Devi), worshiped across India, has many names and many forms. Here, Devi appears at the core of a gleaming golden sun that shines from a templelike frame. In the late seventeenth to early eighteenth century, painters from Himachal Pradesh sometimes pasted little pieces of the shell of iridescent beetles onto their paintings as additional ornamentation. This precious substance-combined with the lavish use of gold and bright, rare pigments-made these works luxury goods in their own right. This painting is the first page of a spectacular series that reveals the multiplicity of the Great Goddess through both words and images.