The Goddess Durga Slaying the Demon Buffalo Mahishasura
12th century
India (Himachal Pradesh, probably Chamba Valley)
Functioning as an altar shrine, complete with a lustration basin, this icon depicts the goddess Durga in the act of conquering the demon buffalo Mahisha. Durga crushes the b...
Read More
The Goddess Durga Slaying the Buffalo Demon (Mahisasura Mardini)
10th century
India (Rajasthan)
The multi-armed Durga tramples the slain buffalo with her raised leg while plunging her trident into the human form of the demon Mahisha seen emerging from the neck of the beast. Her vehicle, the...
Read More
Bronze
Tamil Nadu, India
ca. 970 C.E.
Chola dynasty
Shiva is one of Hinduism’s most powerful and charismatic deities. He builds up great reserves of energy through the practice of yoga and then uses that energy to propel the cosmos. This sculpture shows the god ...
Read More
The inscription along the the foot of the base translated:
"With a body blue in color,
The right hand pressed to the ground,
The left upraised in a threatening gesture, seated in the sattva posture;
To the One reversing the Ganga, I bow! Mangalam."
Narasimha stands astride a broad lotus base, supporting and disemboweling the demon Hiranyakashipu, he wears jewelry and garments of classic form, his wrathful leonine face framed by a broad mane and surmounted by a tall crow...
Read More
A red sandstone relief depicting Narasimha killing Hiranyakashipu
12th Century
Central India
The lion-headed avatar of Vishnu standing in a menacing pose with his left foot on a pedestal, his hands tearing open the abdomen of the evil king Hiranyakashipu; adorned with ornaments and wearing a h...
Read More
A GILT COPPER FIGURE OF PANCHAMUKHI HANUMAN
NEPAL, LATE MALLA PERIOD, CIRCA 1702
The shaft with a Nepali inscription translated, "On the 9th of the bright half of the month of Jyestha Nepal Samvat 822 [1702CE] King Bhupatindra Malla had [this sculpture] made for the occasion of the Siddhagni kot...
Read More
Sri Rama
Kerala, Chera Period, 11th Century
Copper alloy
Cast with the high ornamentation and expressive vitality of the Kerala style, this engaging and accomplished bronze is a rare sculptural depiction of Rama, the hero of India's great epic.
His expression is one of limitless vigor and abili...
Read More
early 12th century
India (Uttar Pradesh)
Sandstone
Imagine posing as a model for this dancing female figure. You'll soon realize that this striking pose is anatomically impossible. Yet the sculptor has captured the essence of continuous, whirling motion.
Goddess Sarasvati
India, Gujarat
1153 AD
Sculpture
White marble
Sarasvati, the Goddess of knowledge, learning, and music, is identified in the inscription on the base of this work. It states that the nobleman Parasuruma commissioned the piece in 1156 from the master builder Jagadeva to replace o...
Read More