Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10

Unknown Artist, India
The Dark Aspect of the Great Goddess Devi

19th century

About the Item

The Dark Aspect of the Great Goddess Devi Pigment on paper (unfinished), 19th century Unsigned as is usual Condition: Good color Voids at edges of the sheet Image size: 6 x 7 1/4 inches Provenance: Flora and Elwood Glass, Jr. Collection Cleveland Museum of Art, 1987 De-accessed 2013 The Great Goddess Devi Bruce Hathaway June 1999, Courtesy Smithsonian Magazine ________________________________________ She has a thousand names and faces — and countless tasks and talents. Even as a fierce warrior heroically slaying the most vicious demons, she retains her composure and radiant beauty. Westerners accustomed to a "Heavenly Father," and to seeing virginal, subdued images of the Madonna, might find Devi and her wildly vigorous feminine power quite startling. For many Hindus, however, Devi's greatest strength is that she embodies all aspects of womanhood. In the vast pantheon, she is in the top tier, as powerful as the male gods Vishnu and Shiva. Mother goddess of India and local protector for innumerable villages, she can be quiet and nurturing. But she is also a cosmic force, addressing the creation and destruction of worlds. On occasion she is voluptuous and alluring — a playful temptress, a passionate lover. Before exams, Hindu pupils pray to her, incarnated as Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning. Devi blesses her devotees with fortune and success. Her most renowned victory is the slaying of a buffalo demon, a brutishly ignorant, bloated egotist. Before Devi came to the rescue, he had defeated a host of benevolent gods. With one of her 18 arms, at the height of the battle, she effortlessly pulls the demon out of his buffalo body with a red noose. Her mount, a tiger, gnaws the head. All the while, Devi is garbed in the gilded and embroidered costume of a Punjab Hills princess. In the clouds above, gods celebrate her triumph by tossing down golden blossoms.
  • Creator:
    Unknown Artist, India (Indian)
  • Creation Year:
    19th century
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 6 in (15.24 cm)Width: 7.25 in (18.42 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Fairlawn, OH
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: FA95851stDibs: LU14013160342
More From This SellerView All
  • Two Miniatures and text from the "Legend of Phra Malai"
    Located in Fairlawn, OH
    Unknown Artist, Thailand, 19th century Two Miniatures and text from the "Legend of Phra Malai" Ink and color on paper, c, 1900 Unsigned as usual Script: Aksar Chrieng or Khmer These texts are written in Khom script, a variant of Khmer script often used in Central Thai religious manuscripts. Phra Malai was a Budhist monk whose meditations permitted him to travel to heaven and hell. Condition: Good, with minor staining to text Sight (window) size: 11-1/8 x 27 inches Frame size: 19-3/4 x 35 x 3/4 inches Framed in solid cherry wood with archival, acid free materials The legend of Phra Malai, a Buddhist monk of the Theravada tradition said to have attained supernatural powers through his accumulated merit and meditation, is the main text in this 19th-century Thai samut khoi (folding book) held in the Thai, Lao, and Cambodian Collections of the British Library. Phra Malai figures prominently in Thai art...
    Category

    19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Pigment

  • Miniatures with Text from the "Legend of Phra Malai"
    Located in Fairlawn, OH
    Unknown Artist, Thailand, 19th century Miniatures with Text from the "Legend of Phra Malai" Double folio; ink, color and gold leaf, c. 1900 Unsigned Script: Khmer (Cambodian) These texts are written in Khom script, a variant of Khmer script often used in Central Thai religious manuscripts. Paired devas (lesser gods) on throne-like plinths addorse Khmer (Cambodian) script containing tales of Phra Malai, a Sri Lankan arhat or Buddhist saint known for his travels to hell. There, the compassionate monk gave teachings and comfort to sufferers. Phra Malai stories taught the karmic effects of human actions to the faithful as well as conveying Maitreya's message of hope for attaining nirvana. Though known in neighboring countries, the stories of Phra Malai achieved their greatest popularity and influence in Siam (present day Thailand) Condition: Very good Sight window) size: 11-1/8 x 27 inches Frame size: 19-5/8 x 34-7/8 x 3/4 inches The legend of Phra Malai, a Buddhist monk of the Theravada tradition said to have attained supernatural powers through his accumulated merit and meditation, is the main text in this 19th-century Thai samut khoi (folding book) held in the Thai, Lao, and Cambodian Collections of the British Library. Phra Malai figures prominently in Thai art...
    Category

    Late 19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Pigment

  • Dharma Prayer Book Manuscript Folio
    Located in Fairlawn, OH
    Dharma Prayer Book Manuscript Folio Ink and gouache on handmade paper, 1875-1925) Miniature depicting Tibetan deity Script is Tibetan. Miniature Size: 2 3/8 x 1 ½ inches Part of a se...
    Category

    Early 20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Gouache

  • Cornucopia
    By Adolf Arthur Dehn
    Located in Fairlawn, OH
    Signed by the artist in ink lower right Preliminary sketch in reverse for the 1928 lithograph "Cornucopia," part of Dehn's Paris Lithographs portfolio An unsigned sketch of tw...
    Category

    1920s Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Ink

  • Two Women and a Child on the Beach at Provincetown
    By Charles Demuth
    Located in Fairlawn, OH
    Two Women and a Child on the Beach at Provincetown Unsigned. Watercolor on paper, c. 1934 A beautiful Provincetown beach scene, included in the catalogue raisonne. Please see Babcoc...
    Category

    1930s American Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

    Materials

    Watercolor

  • Dharma Prayer Book Manuscript Folio
    Located in Fairlawn, OH
    Dharma Prayer Book Manuscript Folio Ink and gouache on handmade paper, 1875-1925) Miniature depicting Tibetan deity Script is Tibetan. Miniature Size: 2 3/8 x 1 ½ inches Part of a se...
    Category

    Early 20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Gouache

You May Also Like
  • Mughal School, 18th century – Emperor Jahangir in his harem in flagrante delicto
    Located in Middletown, NY
    An illuminated page from a book likely in reference to palace life during Emperor Jahangir's reign over the Mughal Empire. Circa 1750. Gouache and ink with gold heightening on cre...
    Category

    18th Century Rajput Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Gold

  • Mughal School, 18th century Emperor Jahangir with Empress Nur Jahan & concubine
    Located in Middletown, NY
    An illuminated page from a book likely in reference to palace life during Emperor Jahangir's reign over the Mughal Empire. circa 1750. Gouache and ink with heightening in gold on li...
    Category

    17th Century Rajput Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Gold

  • Mughal School, 18th century – Emperor Jahangir dancing with his harem attendees
    Located in Middletown, NY
    A joyful scene of lighthearted merriment in the palace of Jangahir Mahal Agra Circa 1750. Gouache and ink with gold heightening on light weight cream laid paper, 8 1/4 x 6 inches (2...
    Category

    18th Century Rajput Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Gold

  • Mughal School, 18th century Emperor Jahangir taking tea in his harem
    Located in Middletown, NY
    An illuminated page from a book likely in reference to palace life during Emperor Jahangir's reign over the Mughal Empire. circa 1750. Gouache and ink with heightening in gold on li...
    Category

    18th Century Rajput Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Gold

  • Mughal School, 19th century Empress Nur Jahan hunting an Indian Gazelle.
    Located in Middletown, NY
    Circa 1890. Pencil and black ink on cream laid paper with a border drawn in light blue ink, 6 x 5 1/8 inches (153 x 130 mm). Scattered light surface soiling and multiple soft horizontal folds. Nur Jahan was fond of hunting and often went on hunting tours with her husband and was known for her boldness in hunting ferocious tigers. She is reported to have slain four tigers with six bullets during one hunt. According to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan this feat, inspired a poet to declaim a spontaneous couplet in her honor: "Though Nur Jahan be in form a woman, In the ranks of men she...
    Category

    19th Century Rajput Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Gold

  • Nur Jahan seated with a painted spice jar. Rajasthani School, 19th cent.
    Located in Middletown, NY
    Ink and gouache with gold heightening on fibrous, brown laid paper with a Jaipur Court Fee tax stamp in purple ink, 13 3/8 x 8 3/4 inches (340 x 222 mm). Toning, handling creases and...
    Category

    19th Century Rajput Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Gold

Recently Viewed

View All